RWBY A Certain Huntsman
by cbustroyer
Summary: An unfortunate incident leads to a young man, being reincarnated into another world to be tasked to kill a great evil within. Can he succeed in his mission or will he fall into the neverending darkness? Or perhaps, there is more to this than he realized? First fanfic, need of beta.
1. Pilot

_All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible._

_T.E. Lawrence_

* * *

_Let me ask you a question, what does the word dream mean for you?_

**Well, dreams are a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep. It could also be a state of mind in which someone is or seems to be unaware of their immediate surroundings.**

_Hmmm, while you are not wrong about the meaning of dreams, that's not what I'm asking of you. What I asked is what do you think of dreams? What do they mean to you?_

**Oh! I guess if you put it that way, then I think of dreams as things that we'd like to happen in reality I guess. I mean, we have dreams because it gives us purpose in life. It could also be something silly and impossible to happen. I just like to think of dreams as something to not make sleeping boring.**

_I see, well wanna know what I think? I think of dreams like a premonition of the future._

**Eh? That's a bit far fetched don't ya think? I mean, sure we have dreams of having future visions, but to have dreams predict the future itself? It seems kinda out there.**

_Ok, tell me something then, have you ever gone through your day then at that one moment, you felt like you have done this before? Even though you have never done that activity in your life?_

… **I suppose I have gone through that before, but why does that matter? It could be just our poor memory just now realizing that we have gone through this situation before?**

_True in some cases yes, however, how about like a specific game, where the numbers are exact, but it would feel like you have seen or played this game before with these precise numbers?_

**Well, I haven't experienced anything like that so I can't say…**

_Well, don't you know that I had a dream that we would have this exact conversation at this moment?_

**What the? You must be pulling my leg here! I mean come on, you couldn't predict the future with your 'dreams' as you put it. That's scientifically impossible. That's just a bunch of weird religious superstitious crap!**

_Believe what you want to believe, however, you will know soon enough when you have a nightmare that would come true and fail to realize you could have stopped it if you had listened to your dreams._

**Sure, sure whatever, anyway I'm done with your weird philosophical perspective so I'm just gonna grab my groceries and leave now. See ya I guess…**

_Mmm, we'll see each other soon enough._

_Goodbye for now, child._

* * *

_Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

_The sound of shattering glass was heard throughout the living quarters, said glass was now laid out on the hard tiles, scattered as tiny glass fragments, ready to pierce through the skin should anyone make a wrong step. Luckily the glass shards did not land on anyone in particular. Unfortunately, though the glass itself was very expensive, an elderly woman, in particular, was not happy about the loss of her glass._

_"Again Chris!?, this is what, like the 3rd time this week that you broke something. And it was my glass as well. I have a collection of these you know, it's very expensive and hard to get." she scolded the young boy, the one responsible for breaking the glass._

_"I-'m so-sorry mommy, my f-fingers just slipped a-and-"_

_"No." she interrupted the young boy's excuse. "I don't want to hear it from you. You have been breaking things and just apologizing half-heartedly. You are a careless, irresponsible child. Honestly, did my daughter really raise such a klutz?"_

_"N-no mommy I-"_

_"Forget it. Just get the broom and clean this mess. That's the only thing you can do anyway." she said before walking away from the quarters, completely angry at the fact that she lost another piece of her collection. The young boy complied, getting his sweep and dustpan from the laundry room and started sweeping all the fragments, carefully eyeing on them as to not leave any of them behind. All the while, having a depressed aura around him. This streak of breaking important collection items has been happening ever since he moved with his grandparent's house, due to the fact that he and his little sister Rachel have nowhere to go since their mother died of heart atrophy and their father is currently out in the military, working to support them. The grandparents of the children decided to take them in and welcome them with open arms._

_Or so he thought at first._

_Turns out, they just accepted them into their home so they can make money from their father as "payment". Sometimes, they would even get the money that was supposed to go to him as an allowance but they would guilt-trip him, saying things like, " We need the money to buy food and water" but in reality, they are just hoarding the money elsewhere and manipulating their father to get even more. He wasn't even sure anymore why they needed more money. So far, they haven't been struggling to eat, pay the bills and the groceries are just enough for all of them. So he didn't know why they needed so much more money than usual. But it didn't matter to him though. What mattered more was their attitude towards him and his sister. At first, when they arrived, they acted how they were supposed to act. Like normal grandparents, they would take care of them, cook for them, take them out to places and the general atmosphere was pleasant._

_But over time, he wasn't sure when it started, but it became more apparent that they were holding a facade. At first, it wasn't noticeable, just insults every now and then whenever he did something wrong by accident or made a mistake. Being the naive one, he took in stride and tried to be better, but those insults seemed to have stained his mind and would occasionally mess with his work, which resulted in more mistakes, more mistakes would result in more insults which would stain his mind even further and the dreadful cycle would continue on. It has gotten so bad that whenever he tried to even just do a simple task, such as carrying a box would fill his mind with so much doubt and anxiety that he would drop it prematurely. Anything that he is requested to do, he would have a slight panic attack in his mind before calming down and carrying out his duty._

_But it wasn't like he could talk to them about it anyway._

_Every time he would try to explain to them what was wrong with him, they would just ignore it or say that; "It's all in your head, you will get over with" spiel over and over. So he stopped asking for advice and tried to deal with it himself. He didn't want to bother his grandparents anymore than he has already, especially since he has been a nuisance to them. He also didn't want his little sister to worry so much since she just started school after all._

_Once the young boy finished gathering all the glass fragments in his broom, he quickly went to the nearest trash bin and dumped all of then in it. He placed the broom and sweep beside it. He went to his sister's room to check up on her since he hasn't seen her all morning._

_"Hey sis, you in here-?!"_

_Turns out, his sister was no longer in here, but instead a bloodied corpse of her, in front of the corpse was a bear, well what looked like a bear anyway, it had a white mask, covering its murderous red eyes. Bone like spikes covering all over its body, more notable on its ankles, elbows, and back. Its mouth was watering with the blood of his sister. Chris stood there, completely horrified at the scene, his body refused to move due to his own fear and the fear of losing his sister. The creature now stood on hind legs, let out an earth-shattering roar before going on all fours of his legs and charged at him. But he couldn't do anything to stop the charge. All he did was scream._

_"Agggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-"_

"Gggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Chris stood up from his bed, sweating profusely as he awoke from his nightmare. He takes a moment to breathe and takes in his current surroundings. On the right side of his bed was a desk, filled with books and paper completely messed up, on his left side was a door leading to the bathroom. On the far right was his cabinet that stored all his clothes and on the far left was the door, leading to the hallway.

Chris took a few moments to take heavy breaths, most likely to calm himself from the surreal nightmare he had undergone. As soon as he realized that he was in his room, he let out a sigh of relief. He quickly realized something was wrong. He looked to his nightstand on his right and grabbed the digital alarm clock that was supposed to have awakened him at a specific time. It seems to be powered off, meaning the battery has died. He grabs his phone underneath his pillow and opens it to check the time.

**6:30 am.**

He quickly relaxes as he knows that he could get to the school bus in time if he doesn't waste time. He puts his phone on the nightstand and gets up from his bed, stretching his arms and legs for a bit before going to the bathroom and taking a bath. Afterward, he goes to his closet to get his uniform, which consists of a dark blue vest with a symbol on his left chest. The symbol is two hands holding each other. One hand is pink while the other is yellow. And below it says: "Drought Hills International School"

Meanwhile underneath his vest is a simple white Polo shirt with a pocket on the right chest. Also underneath it is a new white sleeveless shirt.

His lower body parts only consist of dark blue pants and black shoes.

He goes toward the mirror on his desk to look at himself. His hair was black, with hints of water residue within due to not being properly dried. His brown eyes have bags underneath them, indicating that he did not have a good night's rest, or he stayed up late playing video games. His vest was slightly crumpled and his pants were not worn properly due to its legs, being tucked into the shoes. He fixes those mistakes in a few moments before looking at the mirror again. Satisfied with his current appearance, he grabs his phone and goes downstairs to meet his uncle.

The man wore a simple white printed shirt with plumbing tools on it. And black shorts. His hair is simply black with little bits of white in it. In his hand was a frying pan, cooking up some bacon. He looked at Chris and flashed him a smile. "Hey, there sleepy boy, hurry up to the table so you can eat, you don't wanna be late for your class now do you?"

Chris gave him a small smile before going to the chair and sitting down and moving himself a bit further to the table. His plate was filled with rice, egg, and hotdog at the moment. His uncle then finished cooking the bacon and gave Chris two strips of bacon. He clasped his hand together to make a small prayer of thanks before eating.

"So, why wake up so late? You would have been awake by now while waiting for this old man to cook you breakfast." his uncle started while eating.

Chris looks up to his uncle to respond. "Well, the alarm clock must have died in the middle of the night so it couldn't wake me up at six as usual."

His uncle took out a notepad before writing down; _batteries_ before putting it back. "Thanks for reminding me to list that down, I was gonna go down to Willmart, later on, to buy groceries and I knew I forgot something to list. Thanks, Chris." he gave him a pat on the back before continuing his meal. "By the way, why were you screaming earlier hmm?"

Chris had frozen at the moment, recalling his short but vivid nightmare before shaking his head. "Oh, just a nightmare, nothing to worry about." he hoped that his uncle would stop asking any further than that. To his relief, his uncle sensed that this nightmare was far more uncomfortable than the last one and decided to drop the subject altogether. They ate the rest of the meal in silence before Chris finished his first. He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and grabbed his bag.

Just as he is about to grab the doorknob, his uncle calls out to him. "By the way, don't forget about tomorrow, we gotta go to the cemetery to visit your grandparents and your sister for their death anniversary, so don't go out with your friends today." he nodded sadly before opening the door and closing it behind him.

* * *

_Location: School_

_Time: 4:00pm_

Chris lets out a sigh of relief as the school bell rings, indicating the end of the school for the day. Even though exams were finished the week before, they still had to attend class to fill their quota for the remaining days. As he is grabbing his bag to leave for school, he overhears a conversation.

"Hey did you pass the exam?"

"Yeah dude but barely."

"At least you passed, unfortunately, i didn't."

"Well sucks to be you dude. Anyway, wanna come to my house to PARTY!?"

"Sure why not. Could use a stress reliever after all.

"Yeah, I need a break too. Most likely to prepare my self for... ughhh summer classes"

Chris chuckled at their dismay. Fortunately for him, he is at the top of his peers for being the most intelligent, getting straight A's for every subject. Even his most hated subject History got at least an A-. Enough for him to pass. Unfortunately, they heard his laugh and turned to face Chris.

"What? You think it's so funny huh? Just because you are a straight-A student, doesn't mean you can look down at us!"

"Yeah! Who do you think you are?"

"It's not funny to laugh at us just because we are not as smart as you are."

"Well, good thing you are not invited to our party then."

"YEAH!"

Chris took all their comments in for a few moments, before going into full-blown laughter. The sheer stupidity of their comment just fueled his laughter even more. The four kids stood there in shock. Chris, the quiet kid, the one who has always been the smartest in their class. The same kid that sat alone in lunch every day and the one with no friends was laughing at their suffering. The first kid, who has blonde hair, walked up to Chris and grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up in the air.

"What's so funny huh!?" he snapped at him, shaking him as well while Chris stopped laughing and looked at him straight in the eyes with a cold dead stare. The same stare he was known for. This stare was appropriately named; The dead stare. He then replied with the same dead voice.

"Maybe you shouldn't have wasted time goofing off and started taking your studies seriously. Maybe then you could have done better in your exams. Better than wasting your pathetic lives in something useless."

Everyone stood there speechless at his blunt comment. He wasn't known for insulting others, rather he would just say what he would think on his mind without knowing the full consequences of his words. The blonde kid, now fuming with rage due to being called pathetic, slammed Chris against the blackboard and attempted to punch him in the eye, only for his punch to be missed as he jerked his head to the right, causing it to miss and hurt his hand instead. Chris, now satisfied at his own actions, kicks him straight into a very sensitive part, forcing him to fall onto a fetal position to remedy the blow he had acquired. The three other friends stood there for a few moments in shock before their faces contorted into a rage, their eyes promising a very painful beating, they rushed towards Chris and thus started a brawl between them, which escalated into a free-for-all brawl in the class. The girls and some of the boys left the classroom to try to get a teacher to stop the fighting, while the rest joined in the fight to either stop the fight or escalate it even further. The brawl quickly became more violent as they had now started using blunt objects such as books, or using sharp objects like pencil and pens. All in all, the brawl was pretty violent, with students now having bruises and scratches, with the occasional bleeding on some of them.

Fortunately, the P.E teacher and a guard quickly entered the scene and diffused the conflict very efficiently. The P.E teacher looked at all his students, Bruises, scratches and black eyes could be seen on everyone's body.

"NOW, TELL ME WHO STARTED THIS FIGHT!?" the teacher yelled out, his face frustrated at the fact that his own students could act this way.

"W-well sir." one of the boys began. "It was C-Chris sir. He started insulting a group of friends before they rushed at him and started fighting. The o-others just joined the fight cause it looked fun."

The teacher sighed at the ridiculous excuse. It was quite rare for something like this to happen, not to say it doesn't happen at all, it's just very rare nowadays for teenagers who are going to be graduating soon, acting like six-year-olds in a playground, roughhousing at each other. His eyes scanned towards the students before asking. "If what you are saying is true then. WHERE IS CHRIS THEN?"

The students were confused before looking around to find the culprit, only to realize that he was no longer in the room. Their eyes widened in shock as they weren't so sure how to explain his disappearance. The teacher looks at the students before face-palming at himself. "If you are going to blame someone for his or her actions… THEN MAKE SURE THE CULPRIT IS THERE YOU DUMBASSES! JUST BECAUSE CHRIS DOESN'T SPEAK UP TO YOU PUNKS DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN PUT THE BLAME ON HIM. ALL I SEE IS A BUNCH OF IRRESPONSIBLE BRATS WHO THINK THAT SINCE THEY ARE OLD ENOUGH TO MAKE DECISIONS, THEY CAN DO WHATEVER THEY LIKED." he ranted, completely furious. "TOMORROW ON SATURDAY, I WANT ALL OF YOU WHO ARE PRESENT RIGHT NOW, TO COME HERE IN CLASS AT 9 AM AND RUN LAPS UNTIL LUNCHTIME, IF YOU DON'T ATTEND TOMORROW, THEN I WILL FAIL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU HERE IN P.E UNDERSTOOD!?."

A collective amount of "yes sir" was heard throughout the room, unbeknownst to them however was Chris, leaning against the door, smirking to himself. When the brawl began, he did indeed take a few hits himself and fought back. But when the others joined the brawl, he quickly made a distraction that allowed him to escape unnoticed by the crowd. He slung his bag over his shoulder and began walking towards the nurse's office first to treat all the wounds he had acquired throughout his scuffle. Afterward, he quickly snuck out of school to avoid being spotted.

* * *

_Location: New York Streets_

_Time: 4:15 pm_

As Chris begins his trek home, he recalls the bitter memories of high school. Ever since he had lost all the people he cares about in his life, he became far colder and distant than he ever was before. It was already difficult enough since he was a very shy kid who didn't really try to seek out friends that often, they would usually go to him to be his friend. But now, he would even reject those who would try to befriend him in the first place. He stopped caring whether or not he has any friends or not, he put all his focus into his studies instead. He would only interact with others if necessary, such as a group project or field trips. But even then, he would only use the words necessary for the subject. Nothing more or less. He didn't really care as long as he passes high school and moves on to college then he can try to find a new life outside the country, possibly to forget all the horrible things that happened in his home.

As he passes by a nearby flower shop, he remembers that he needed to get something for his visit to the cemetery tomorrow, so he decided to get a bunch of flowers to give to the grave. So he went inside the flower shop. Unfortunately, he could tell something was wrong inside already, the place felt too quiet for him, so he snuck behind one of the flower displays to look up to the cash register, which is getting robbed.

"GIVE ME UR DAMN MONEY LADY." the robber points the gun at the store clerk

"Y-Y-Yesss sir." The store clerk panics as she rummages through her register to get money from.

Chris put his head down to think of something to help her out. He may be far more cold and distant before but despite that fact, he would help those truly in need as he made a promise to her mother before she died.

_"Please, be a good person."_

A very simple sentence to anyone, but to him, it meant the world to him. He wanted to keep that promise more than anything so he decided to help the old lady, not out of the goodness of his heart, but to keep his promise no matter what. His analytical mind began to process his next move.

_'Ok I know he has a gun so most likely he can kill me easily with it, but I'll just throw my heavy bag filled with books as a distraction. Long enough so I can grab the gun or tackle him.'_ this plan of his wasn't really well thought out he would admit, however, he doesn't have enough time to analyze any further as he needs to make his move now.

The store clerk pours out all the cash available from the register and her own wallet. The robber pulls out a duffle bag and gestures the money to the bag while still holding out the gun in front of her. Knowing the gesture, she begins to put all the money into the bag as fast as she could.

"HURRY UP, THE COPS WILL BE HERE SOON." he roared out in anger, making the woman panic even further and accidentally spilling out some of the money on the floor.

"NOW LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE. NOW I HAVE TO PICK IT UP NOW." he puts the gun on the table near him to grab the money, seeing this unforeseen opportunity, he quickly runs from his hiding spot and tosses his bag at the robber. The robber couldn't do anything as he was distracted and took in the blunt force of his bag. He staggered for a bit before being tackled by Chris and was slammed against the wall. Now while Chris isn't the most buffed guy around, he does exercise every now and then. He isn't fat or out of shape, but he isn't the strongest guy around. He's just thin but can still give a mean punch. The robber slumps down on the wall before looking up to his attacker, which is Chris holding his gun straight in the face. His eyes widened a bit before glaring back at Chris. But the robber smirks as he sees the uncertainty in his eyes, despite the cold dead stare that is currently masking his face.

"Heh, you got spunk kid, never thought a kid like you would try to play the hero. Kids like you nowadays are too busy playing their little video games and complaining about their little anime shows, not getting their favorite ships together and so on that, I had forgotten that they would actually try to play the protagonist of their own little world."

Chris rolled his eyes at his statement. It was true enough, many kids at his age would be busy goofing off and having fun, but he didn't have that luxury, nor did he give himself that either. Because honestly? He would rather spend time with his family than anything else, but now they're gone and it's not worth doing those things with anyone but his family.

"But when I look into your eyes, I see a person who had lost so much that he wouldn't give a damn if he died right here and now. He would rather die and be with his family then live. It's kinda sad honestly that you would-"

"SHUT UP!" Chris silenced the robber, his eyes narrowed with bridled rage, his hands shaking violently at the words of a criminal. "You don't know me enough to tell crap like that to my face asshole! Especially since you are a criminal bastard! At least I didn't throw my life away for a life of crime. Now just sit there while the nice old lady that you just tried to rob, calls the police and puts you in prison for the rest of your life."

The robber smirked at his words. "Well, you're wrong about one thing though." his hand slowly picks up a gun from his back pocket.

"And what would that be oh good sir." Chris mocked the criminal before his eyes widened at one of his hands.

"I'm not going to jail, I'm going to hell… AND I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME BOY!" he pulls out his gun and shoots Chris in the chest while simultaneously he shoots the robber at the head. The robber died in an instant while Chris held out his wound from his chest. Judging by the difficulty in breathing, he shot at either his heart or one of his lungs. Either way, he is going to die anyway so it doesn't really matter. As he drops to his knees and collapses on the floor, the store clerk rushed to the shot student, begging him to stay awake as he tries to call an ambulance, but to no avail as his body refuses to respond. The only thing he can do now is wait to lose consciousness. As the life from his body slowly drains away, he had his final prayers in his thoughts.

_'God I hope I don't go to hell for killing this bastard. Sorry uncle, guess I'll be joining with the dead soon heh. Cya in the afterlife I suppose, I'll be meeting my mom again so I'll be fine.' _his final thoughts before the world goes dark.

* * *

_Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

When Chris woke up, the first thing he saw was white and a lot of it. His body felt very light for some reason and not feeling any pain from the gunshot. He slowly rises from whatever he was lying down on and sits down properly while looking around. Unfortunately for him, there's nothing here but white space for miles to see. He wasn't sure whether this is heaven, hell or purgatory. It could be just where souls go to before choosing any of those places, like a judgment place of sorts. But there is one thing he knows for sure.

_'No one is here to greet me…'_

That was the oddest thing here, no one was here, it was just him and him alone. He slowly gets up and just starts walking aimlessly to wherever he feels like it. He really wasn't sure whether this was a mistake by the angels of heaven or he just had to wait it out first. Either way, he would just walk around until he touches the edge of the room or something else happens. But before he could get far, a strange portal opened up a few feet in front of him. The portal itself was just a mix of rainbow colors.

_'Huh, guess I didn't really need to wait that long.' _as he stares at the rainbow portal, a figure comes out of it.

**"My apologies mortal, I got sidetracked for a few moments." **the figure spoke with a great commanding tone.

"Nah it's fine" Chris shrugged off his words. After all, it doesn't really matter to him as long as he gets out of this place, he can wait as long as he needs to. As the figure steps out of his portal to fully reveal himself, Chris is stunned by his appearance.

The figure's appearance could only be described as…confusing. He wasn't really sure what to think here. Its body seems to be glowing either yellow or golden through its entire body. The being has two antlers sticking out of its head, making it look like some sort of animal god. Which is odd, considering Chris never worshipped any animal deity in his entire life. The figure also has no facial features except its white eyes, which also has no irises at all, which is very creepy in its own right. The portal closed behind it and it just stood there with its arms on its sides.

**"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the God of Light. It is a pleasure to speak with you mortal. **The now proclaimed "God" introduced itself. Clearly, it seems that this god is not a fan of speaking names and since it probably knows his name, he won't bother with it.

"The pleasure is mine I suppose," Chris replied with uncertainty in his voice. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or say here so he decided to get straight to the point. "So, why am I here exactly, more importantly, where is here exactly?"

**"Well, before we get to that, I suppose I should tell you to inform you about something important." **the God began his speech. **"You are no longer on earth or in heaven or whatever you call your after-life. As it stands, you are in my realm, specifically, you are in what you humans call 'another dimension' meaning your earth doesn't exist here. I have dragged your soul from death to bring you into my realm to give you a purpose. A meaning to do with your life if you will. Should you choose to accept it, I will tell you more about your purpose of why I grabbed you here, should you decline it, I will leave you in this realm stuck forever as I cannot send you back to where you came from. So, do you wish to know or not mortal?"**

If Chris wasn't already stunned by this God's appearance, he would be even more stunned by his grandiose statement. Another dimension? Earth not existing here? His soul being forcibly dragged? A new purpose in life? It was too much for his mind to comprehend. Normally, he can handle complicated topics such as philosophy and other complicated topics with that nature. However, given the sheer ridiculousness of his current situation, he finds it hard to interpret the predicament he currently is in. He just stood there for a few moments, just blinking his eyes out in hopes of this being a bad dream and he would just wake up in either a hospital or in the gates of hell. The God of Light, not understanding Chris's plight, decided to snap him back to reality.

**"Mortal, did you not hear me or are you trying to act deaf," **he asked in a very impatient and slightly offended tone.

Chris snapped to reality by his sheer voice alone, showing him that he is an impatient God and one to quickly get angered easily if it demands are not met. "Sorry, just trying to understand your message," he admitted sheepishly.

**"What is it so hard to understand?" **the God of Light questioned the young boy. **"I made my words as simple as I could for you to understand. You are no longer on earth, you are on my domain and I asked you if you would like to be given a purpose, what's so hard to understand."**

"Well, everything!" he argued. "I mean come on, my soul being transported to another dimension? Earth not existing apparently and you giving me a purpose? Of course, I'm trying my best to understand but I just can't. This might as well be just a dream and I would just wake up in hell or in a hospital."

**"I can assure this is not a dream nor you are in "hell" as you put it." **he calmly replies back, his tone not betraying his emotions as he is slightly irked that this human would compare this place to that unsavory place for all evil humans. Even his brother's lair was much calmer than that place. **"And you wouldn't wake up in a hospital either as you truly have died in your world. I dragged your soul when it was on its way to the "purgatory" as you call that place, placed you in my realm and asked you if you want to have a purpose in life, besides waiting in that place for gods who knows how long."**

"Wait… so you know what happens when souls like me go to the purgatory?" he asked the God in front of him. If he really isn't dreaming and this is happening, he might as well know what would have been his fate if it weren't for this god, pulling him out of that place.

**"Sure I do, I have done it more than once. Your soul goes to purgatory, then this St. Uriel angel comes there and judges your actions** **on earth and either sends you to hell straight or he lets you rot there until all your sins are forgiven and thus you can go to 'heaven'. You would be there for an extremely long time if it was the latter." **he explains.

"And how long is that." he frightenedly asked the being.

**"A couple of millennia give or take." **he bluntly replied.

Chris's jaw dropped as he heard his answer. That long? He knew the cleansing of sins takes an awfully long time thanks to him studying his religion since he is Roman Catholic. But to wait that long to go to heaven though? That's a very painful way of punishing someone, even though he knew he deserves it, thanks to him killing somebody for it. He still wasn't sure if others like him would have to unfairly wait that long. It boggled his already rattled mind that he decided to shift the topic away from that. "Ok ok, let's say I believe you and I'm no longer in earth and all that, why pick me though? couldn't you just pick people who didn't deserve that type of faith."

The God shrugged his arms. **"I pick random mortals. I don't usually specify which mortal to drag. So I guess you should consider yourself lucky then. But enough about that, are you going to answer the question or not?" **

_'There it is again, his impatient tone. He really wants his question answered already huh.' _Chris thought to himself before straightening his posture to look at him straight and replied. "Ok, so what purpose as to why you drag me into your realm then." there was no point in beating the bush so he will get straight to the point then.

**"Excellent now we are moving along now." **he expresses his satisfaction. **"Now all I asked from you is to go to my world and kill a person named Salem for me, can you do that?"**

Chris was quite shocked by this. This self-proclaimed God of Light is asking a teenager who has recently committed murder to murder another person in his world? That's… rather insane for him to think about. He thought he would never have to kill again. Despite him being a cold person, he disliked the feeling of murdering people. He wasn't a sociopath as he could still feel regret for being forced to take someone's life away. Even if it's in self-defense, he still would like to avoid it if he could. But this? Given a purpose to kill another person! That's his purpose? To become a murderer? No! He refused to accept it.

"No.," he said with as much conviction as he can muster.

The being raises one of its "eyes" in interest. There were several people whom he dragged before and had refused him before, but this one refused him immediately without even thinking about it for a moment. **"And why not human? You have killed someone before you died. Surely you can do the same anyway, so what's the difference this time?"**

_'Of course, I forgot that Gods like him don't really care about morals and ethics so this may be difficult to explain.' _he dreaded. He should have known this would have happened anyway, but regardless, he would stand by his own words. "While true, I killed someone before I died as well, it was more on self-defense than anything else. He shot me first and I shot back in return. I wasn't planning on shooting him at all unless he had hurt me or others." he explained, hoping that his reasoning will go through him but…

**"I understand, however, the fact remains that you would still have to kill him to protect yourself anyway. And before you make an excuse about anything else, I'll tell you the facts. You could have easily avoided the entire situation by simply leaving the shop, regardless of whether it was robbed or not. When you engaged the criminal, you could have thrown the gun away from him and the cashier outside and gone over to check over him if he had any guns. So your poor planning and desire to "keep your promise" were the cause of both your demises so don't blame it on your poor planning-"**

"I KNOW THAT ASSHOLE!" Chris yelled at the greater being, interrupting him from his analysis. He didn't care if he was being disrespectful or was about to be smitten out of existence. He knew from the start that his poor planning was the result of his own downfall, he did not need to be reminded of that. Especially since it also cost the criminal's death as well. "You don't need to remind me that I took another man's life because of my incompetence to find a better solution. That would be something I would carry to my damn grave. Or hell or wherever I'm going next. But, I will do my damn best not to kill any more people if I can. So no you can forget about me killing this 'Salem' person or whatever. Even if she is evil, even if she is the bane of whatever world you have there, I refuse to kill anymore. Besides, I'm pretty sure your world would be able to find justice for her and she will fall." he declared. He didn't care about what was going to happen to him now, but he would not kill any more people and that would be final for him.

**"Perhaps a deal will suffice for you? After all, humans are naturally greedy in nature and would want something in return for their services." **The God if Light offered to the young teenager, hoping to end this stupid meeting soon so he can execute his plan for him.

Chris laughed a bit, caught off guard by the fact that a being that is essentially a God no less, is offering him something in exchange for something bloody. "Heh, sorry but while I am greedy yes, I will not accept a deal from a devil. That's rule 101 bitch!" he gave the middle finger to the being, completely disrespecting him now.

**"So even if it means, you won't ever see your grandparents or mother ever again, you won't accept the deal?"**

That entire sentence shook the core of Chris's existence. Of all the things this being would do, he would drag his dead relatives with him, just to get him to do his bidding. It infuriated him. It enraged him so much in his soul, he just yelled out an animalistic roar at the being known as The God of Light. "HOW FUCKING DARE YOU BRING MY DAMN PARENTS INTO YOUR SICK GAME OF YOURS. HOW DARE YOU MOCK THEIR EXISTENCE AS IF THEIR DEATHS MEAN NOTHING TO YOU! WHILE YOU GODS MAY NEVER KNOW HOW WE MORTALS FEEL, YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST THE INCENTIVE TO RESPECT THE DEAD. JUST BECAUSE YOU COULD BRING THEM TO LIVE DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD."

The God of Light was intrigued by his emotional outburst of this logical person. He has been keeping an eye on Chris for a while and as far as he could tell, he is usually a practical person, not known to be driven by emotions. Sure, he has seen him being emotional because of his parent's death, but they never usually impact his choices. But, he has also never seen him being pushed this far before as well. He thought about his next move for a bit, wondering if it's worth pushing this person a bit further to see what he would do. He knows he can't be hurt, but he does wonder if this mortal would try and hurt him anyway regardless of the consequences. But, he would be wasting too much time and besides, his brother would be coming back soon from his "little playtime" from wherever he does that. So he has to make this quick.

**"Alright mortal, I won't play with your parents yet, but you can see where this is going. You would either obey my request, or I will make sure you suffer for your insubordination. After all, it is very difficult and taxing to get another one like you from your world since I have to wait for at least centuries to get a soul like you."** the being explained while his hands are clasped together now. **"So, how about this, I send you to my world, you kill Salem for me and I will send your soul straight to heaven or whatever you called that higher place. And I won't mess with your parents if you do this for me. Deal?" **he puts his hand out for a handshake, waiting for Chris's input.

Chris was in a very precarious dilemma. On one hand, he would be forced to kill another person so that his parents won't be touched, but they would most likely be disappointed in him when he gets there. On the other hand, if he refuses to do so, his parents would be dragged into this mess. Not to mention the fact that even if he doesn't do the task, he would just find another to do it for him anyway. That goes to show him that this God only sees mortals as expendable tools, ready to be used or disposed of. That's not a feeling he would like the others to feel right now. But he had to make a decision now.

"I-i" the words were struggling to come out of his mouth. His throat was itchy and his body was trembling, but he had to do this. For his mother. For his sister. For his grandparents. For the future people who hopefully won't go through this. And.

For himself.

"I'll do it. I'll go to your world and kill Salem for you." those words came out bitterly from his mouth as he shook the being's hand in a respectful manner.

The God smiled at his response, finally being able to finish this meeting once and for all. **"Alright mortal, glad you see things my way then."** he dropped his hands onto his sides before walking a fair bit of distance away from Chris and stopping. **"But before you go I must warn you about one thing. Salem is very dangerous, thus I will send you to my world with the ability to use magic. Do not fret, I will send you a book on all your magic spells. I will also alter your body a bit so your chances of survival are a bit higher than before." **He puts his hand out, a soft yellow glow etches from it before flowing towards Chris and coating his entire body with a very bright glow.

Chris felt odd from the glow. Something inside of him, as if it hasn't been touched since birth, has gradually begun to grasp his heart. He never felt anything like it before. Before he could ponder it for long, the feeling was gone and the glow dissipated as well.

**"Now I shall give you a new name as well. Don't ask why. That will lead to too many things I would rather not discuss right now." **The being declared, not allowing Chris to even ask why he needs a new name. But after a few moments, he snapped his fingers. **"Alright. Your new name will be…**

_**Tanner Stormcloud**_

Chris was… unsatisfied? He wasn't sure what to think about the name. But, if the being wills it, he will accept it. He simply nods at him.

**"Alright, now it's time for me to send you to the new world. Oh, and before I forget, there is one more thing. If you do ever perish in my world, whether it is by accident or on purpose. You will be sent here and watch as I use your parents to finish your task instead so try not to die and complete it mortal." **before Chris could even respond to that statement, The God of Light snapped his fingers and everything went white.

* * *

**Date when chapter posted: Jun 30, 2019**

**Date when update posted: March 17, 2020**

**AN: I promised I would update this chapter when i can and i delivered right.**

***sigh* to be fair though, it actually only took me about a week to write this chapter but i took 2 months to write it. Why? Depression + laziness + life + writers block = no inspiration. It honestly made me sad, but when i looked at my story sitting at 40 favorites and 54 followers only on 7 chapters. It blew my mind to see it reach that far, despite it being an oc/si story like many others which are written better than this one. So thank you from the bottom of my heart, hopefully, i get inspired to update chapter 2 as well. Also, both my beta readers are gone now so i still am looking for new ones to help me fix my story as much as possible so please if you can spare time for this sad of a fiction writer, i would appreciate it.**

**So that's it for this chapter, next time, i will update the next chapter and then hopefully make a new chapter as well. Hopefully if i get enough inspiration from the heavens. Also stay safe from the coronavirus. Until next time Chow**


	2. A new World

I believe that in this new world that we live in, we often have a responsibility, you know, to actually go beyond the thou shalt not - that is, the not harming others - and say we can help others and we should be helping others.

Peter Singer.

* * *

_Location: Unknown Forest_

_Time: 11:00 am_

A bright flash of light suddenly disturbed the usual peaceful forest. Birds flinched and flocked away from the scene, mammals alike also took off as fast as they could. The light dissipates a moment later and Chris stands for a moment before falling flat on the grassy bed of the forest. Just as his face is laid there, another flash of light radiates the area and a book falls from the light onto Chris's head which decked his head before falling onto the right side of him. Chris groans as he lifts his head up from the ground to survey his surroundings. Rays of mellow sunlight filtered through the verdurous canopy, penetrating through the leaves and casting an unearthly green–gold luminescence over the ground. They were in varying shades of green: some were still budding, emerging a fresh, limey color into the summer, whilst the grown, flatly panned leaves were brushed a lush emerald under the overhead sun. Gnarled roots dipped into and out of the ground and twisted branches reached down, fingers grasping thin air. Some trees were wreathed in ivy, ever frozen in its embrace, whilst others were still bare; young shoots that hadn't enough time to have claimed companions.

_'Wow, this is breathtaking. I haven't seen a forest this beautiful since… well ever.' _As Chris admires the scenery before him, he notices the book that injured his head. Letting out a sigh, he bends his back a bit to grab the book and proceeds to read the cover of the book first.

_The book of magic_

Chris deadpanned at the simplicity of the name. He would guess that naming things aren't very important to them is they just half-assed the name instead. He would have just thrown the book away, but seeing that this book may be the only thing that could teach him about magic, he opens the book to read the first page.

Welcome to the book of magic.

Where you will be able to learn magic quite easily and efficiently. Courtesy of the God of Light, this book contains magic that you might be either familiar with or not. As magic is different in this world, I have decided to create new magic that would suit you so you may use it to the fullest potential.

_'Quite a bit of an intro there now. If I didn't know you any better, I would have thought you were a kind and generous God. But I guess that's expecting too much from an asshole like you.'_ he thought bitterly as he continues to read the rest of the page.

After this page. There will be a Table of Contents where you will be able to see all the spells you can use. Good luck Tanner.

_'Oh well, might as well get it over with I suppose.'_ he thought as he turns to the next page.

Table of Contents

Attack Magic; page #$

Defensive Magic; page $+

Support Magic; page #

Conjuration magic; page &-

Miscellaneous magic; page '

_'Ok, at least he gave the time of day to at least make this magic book spell easier to navigate through the book. I suppose the first thing on the agenda is looking up at Offensive magic, just in case for self-defense.'_ he planned out as he began to turn the next page, but he found out something else instead.

Before you can start wielding magic. You need to first be able to channel mana through yourself before being able to cast any magic.

_'What the hell!? Do I have to learn how to channel magic now? What kind of BS is this? Why can't I just know how to channel magic naturally? That's dumb. I hate you God of Light.' _he cursed internally as he continues to read the rest of the page.

To channel mana. First, close your eyes. Then try to reach your soul and tap into it. But before that. Try to remember the feeling you had when you were given magic. Then and only then you would be able to tap into your soul and bring out your mana.

_'You gotta be kidding me! Some vague BS now? I don't have time to learn this crap! But if I don't, then I'll be left defenseless in this unknown world… I realized I never asked the name of this world. Oh my God. Whatever one step at a time first. Ok, so I need to remember that strange feeling. Take a deep breath and focus.' _he puts the book down, closes his eyes and tries to remember the strange feeling he had before. Several minutes had passed and he still is trying to focus while getting increasingly frustrated at the lack of no progress. He opens his eyes and reads the book again, trying to find any clue as to how to get that feeling back. But then he stumbles upon a word that sparked an idea.

_'It says here to try and reach your soul to tap into it. Maybe that's what I'm missing from this. But the problem is, what is the definition of the soul in this world? I'm not sure if the meaning of a soul from my world is similar to this one. From my own understanding of souls. The soul is usually the culmination of your being. Usually responsible for creating your own being such as personality and traits. If the meaning of souls in our world is the same here, then in order for me to tap into my own soul, I'll need to imagine what my soul would look like then. Damn, he made this way too complicated. I would have preferred to have gamer powers instead of this. But, I'll take what I get. No point in wasting time now.' _he begins to close his eyes once again and instead of trying to remember that feeling, he is attempting to imagine what his soul would generally look like. Since Chris is a religious person, albeit not as religious as other people, he will try to base his soul on Mother Mary's heart of forgiveness. He proceeds to picture his soul as a simple red heart, beating soundlessly in the depths of his being. He then uses his memory to reapply the feelings he had when being given magic. The heart reacts and blue streaks of light start to flow from the heart and then back in itself like a heartbeat. He maintains it for several minutes before letting go of the feeling, however, even though the feeling is gone, his soul is still pumping out the blue lights, albeit at a much slower pace than before. Chris smiles proudly at this fact. He lets out a contented sigh and continues to read the book.

Once you have mana flowing through you. I suggest suppressing it as the mana right now is leaking out of you. And you can be exhausted if too much expels out of you.

Chris reads this part and checks his own body to check if mana is leaking out of it. So far, it doesn't seem to be the case so he flips to the next page, saving that bit of info for later. But then he recalls something crucial.

_'How the hell am I supposed to know if my mana sources are running low though.' _he flips back to the previous page to check if there is any guide on how to help him solve this problem. But, it seems it did not state on how to track your own mana. _'You gotta be kidding me. Now I need to know how to check my own mana of all things.' _he grumbled at the thought of lack of knowledge for this simple but important fact. However, he thinks back to all those video games he plays where there is a mana bar that would indicate how much mana the character would have left. It would be usually either numbers or just a blue bar. So, he imagines his soul having a blue bar just right above the heart. And within a few moments, the blue bar does appear above his heart, yet something else happens. Right below his heart, another bar appears, though this bar is far different from his blue bar as this one is wrapped up in chains and the bar is purple instead. He briefly wonders what this bar could mean, but it could wait later as he turns back to the book to learn his first spell. He flips to a page and finds the first spell he would learn in this world.

Fireball:

A simple ball of fire that can be shot towards your target.

Does small burn damage.

Has a chance to catch enemies on fire.

It can be channeled to do more damage.

_'A very generic fire spell. I always wonder why that would be the first spell to be learned in every fantasy-style element show. That's a bit too boring though, but I guess I have to start somewhere though. Now the only thing is… where can I test this spell safely without setting the entire forest on fire.' _he contemplated as while he wants to test his new spell or toy ASAP, he would rather not be blamed by the huge forest fire he may create by mistake. But as luck would have it, he would get his target soon enough, but it won't be a very nice target either. Suddenly, he heard a growl which made him jump out of his 'thinking pose' and spun around to locate the source of the growl. Sure enough, he finds the source, but then the fear starts to settle in his body as he realizes where it came from. His eyes widened in terror and his body begins to tremble as he scans his soon-to-be target.

The target was some sort of wolf but bigger almost as big as him. To be fair Chris's height is around at least 5'5ft so he is of decent size but whatever this creature is, to have a size like that is terrifying. But that isn't the strangest thing. This creature or whatever has black fur with bones spiking out of its arms, elbows, on its back, shoulders, and its legs. To make things even more creepy. This wolf thing also has some sort of bone mask which covers it's menacingly red eyes. This thing reminded him of the dream he had before coming to this world, but the one in his dream is a bear though so this creature is of the same origin but can have different types or species. This wasn't the target he was hoping for; in fact, he would have preferred an animal instead. As the dark creature comes closer to him, his body refuses to move due to the terror his mind is currently in. The black creature, who not only invaded his dream but reminded him of how he lost his sister as well, albeit not by the black creature, but the body's state that Chris founded was in similar shape. Chris's mind is trying to fight back his fear to get his body to move, but alas to no avail. A few moments later, the creature pounces at him. This snaps Chris back just in time for him to use his arms to block the scratch from the creature.

The searing pain shot up his arm like fire. He screamed in agony and fell back. It exploded in his head with blinding whiteness. It made him dizzy. It made him reel. The pain was like needles that had been dipped in alcohol had been jammed through his skin, like his arm had been replaced with ice and electricity wired straight into her spine. But he didn't have the time to continue on like this as he noticed the creature preparing to pounce again on him. This time he was ready. The pain that is currently burning in his arms directed his mind to fight back against this creature and not cower in fear. The creature attacks again, but Chris dodges to the side to avoid the attack. The bloodied claw hits against the bark of the tree, snapping the poor tree in half. He gulped at that moment. He didn't actually expect that his arms would survive another attack like that. He has to be careful this time, especially since his arms already took the hit for him once. The creature looks back at him with it's a sharp red gaze and gets down on all it's four legs, ready to attack again. Chris held one of his arms up with the support of the other to aim at the creature and yelled out…

_**Fireball!**_

A red magic circle spawns on the palm of his hand, his body glows with blue energy as it is being directed at the red circles, fueling its attack. Chris can see the fire gathering at the circle, preparing itself to be launched. A moment later, the fireball is released, hurling itself towards the creature, making contact with an explosion to follow up with it. The smoke obstructed Chris's line of sight as the dust blew towards him, forcing him to close his eyes for a few moments. The dust settles and he opens his eyes to find that the creature is still standing. The only evidence that his fireball made contact with it was the scorched fur on its body. The creature roared out in anger as it charged towards Chris in a blind rage. Chris sidesteps the claw strike but the creature doesn't deter as it continues to attempt to hit him with its claws, forcing Chris to move from side to side to avoid the attack, all the while agitating the pain in his arms further. He flinched but doesn't lose focus as he recalled that if he falls here, it would mean the end for him and his parents. As the creature fails to land its attack again, he takes this opportunity to go behind the creature and cast another fireball at it's back. The spell was casted much faster than last time and it landed a blow on the creature, stumbling towards before straightening itself again to look at Chris. He realized that his attacks are not strong enough and he needs to devise a plan to take this creature down quickly or he will die to either blood loss or his head getting ripped off. But he remembers that the spell can be channeled to do more damage. But the only thing is should he risk it? There is a chance it could work and destroy the creature in one hit or he could die here.

He decided to take the risk and put his hand out and cast fireball but this time instead of firing at it right away, he decides to charge it up with more mana than before. The creature not knowing the danger charges headfirst at the attack. His mind is running at a million thoughts per second. Most of them filling him up with doubts if he could even land this attack at all. But he cast them aside and focus on his attack.

3 seconds the distance of the creature is closing in fast.

2 seconds the creature jumps at that moment. It's claw prepared to rip my head off.

1 second the claw is mere inches away from my neck, ready to decapitate it and end my life.

0 second.

_**FIREBALL!**_

The fireball was much larger than before. The fireball he casted before was usually around the size of his palm that is clenched. Now, the fireball was 3 times the size of that. But instead of exploding on the creature like normal, the fireball pierced right through the chest and was flying towards the air and hit one of the trees instead, resulting in a big explosion much larger than he had ever made before. The fires from that explosion scattered across the trees nearby, catching them on fire. Chris took heavy pants as his life flashed right before his eyes. If he released that spell a second too late, he would have been a goner. He looked at his handiwork. The creature's head laid back as the hole from its chest was glowing with scorching red from his spell. Its eyes no longer glowed red but instead were just lifeless eyes. The body slowly begins to dissipate in a cloud of black smoke. Chris stood in awe as the body disappeared in a few moments. Now it is as if he never fought anything at all, only remnants of the fight as destroyed trees and his scarred bloodied arms which he needs to treat very soon. Chris took off his school vest and a polo shirt, leaving him only with a sleeveless shirt. He used the vest to bandage his left arm while he used the polo shirt to bandage his right arm. The bleeding of his arms slowly seeped into his bandages, bathing them in red dye. After a few moments, he sniffs the air as he can smell something burning. He finally notices the fire that he caused that is spreading at an alarming rate. He panicked as he went to the book where he dropped it and quickly scanned the pages to find any type of water spell to dispel the fire. He stumbles upon one of the water spells.

Waterfall

A very powerful water spell as it spawns above the designated area and cast a huge amount of water.

It does not need channeling.

It can be controlled by how much water output you need.

He tossed the book aside and put his bandaged arms out, aiming at the source of the fire.

_**Waterfall!**_

But instead of the circle appearing at his hand, it appeared above the fire. A moment later, a huge surge of water poured out towards the growing fire. It was as the name suggests. The spell is literally a waterfall that quickly dispels the main fire and the surrounding ones. A moment later, the circle disappeared and the water stopped rushing it. Now all that remains are charred trees and wet muddy ground. Chris grinned at his quick thinking as he managed to stop a forest fire that he made himself. Suddenly, he felt light-headed as he used the tree beside him as support. He put his hand on his face as he realized he is burning up a bit, probably from the lack of blood and exhaustion he is experiencing. He falls to the ground and collapses on the grass bed and takes a quick nap.

* * *

_Time: 2:30 pm_

Chris stirs up from his slumber as he realizes that he is on the ground again. He grabs the side of the tree to support himself up as he looks around. It seems that he is still in the same location where he fought the creature last. Only this time the sun is much hotter than before and he is hungry as well. He grabs the book and starts to walk in a random direction in hopes of finding a mammal or anything to eat for his lunch. But luck would have it, another black creature appears but instead of taking the form of a wolf, it resembles a boar. It made Chris wonder if these are the animals of this world only and how on earth he would get food from. Luckily for him, the boar hasn't spotted him so instead of engaging it in battle, he sneaks around it to avoid getting its attention. Until he can develop his magic better, he would try to avoid fights as much as possible. Once he made it out safe and sound, he started to pick up the pace but not too fast so the boar won't hear his footsteps.

Eventually, after a long trek in this forest, he found a deer he could kill to cook its meat. While he was strolling in the forest, he continued to read his book, looking for spells that might interest him in his predicament. While the book itself isn't heavy, it is still difficult to navigate on the pages of his book. But he did find two spells that would help him.

Create Water.

A basic water spell that shoots out water out of your hands

It does not need channeling.

It can adjust the water output.

While this spell isn't as strong as 'Waterfall', he could use this spell to drink from as he tested this before and would be a better way to control any fires he may make by accident instead of dumping buckets of water like there is no tomorrow.

Storage

An ability that allows you to store anything in an endless void.

It can also prevent decay.

You cannot enter it though and you cannot put anything alive in it.

This spell would be the most useful one and would probably get spammed more than usual. Being able to store endless amounts of items is always useful, especially if the item is too heavy to lift by himself. Not to mention that he could store food due to the storage ability to prevent decay at all. He can essentially store an endless amount of food without worry about it going bad. It is better than pulling random items out of your pockets which never made any sense in any show at all.

Chris looks at the deer at the moment. He waits for it to do something before he could launch his attack. After a bit, the deer sets his head on the ground to eat some grass. He takes this opportunity to charge his fireball spell to kill it instantly. Granted, this could burn and waste a lot of meat, but he isn't sure if he can find another one so he takes this chance to get one. After a few moments, he released his spell at the oblivious deer. The spell pierced right through the deer, just like what happened to the black creature and it exploded in the forest again. He quickly runs to the fire and extinguishes it quickly with his controlled water spell. He runs back to the deer and dispels all the remaining fire in it to prevent it from burning the meat even worse than before. He realized that most of the deer's meat is charred black, leaving it mostly inedible. Some of the patches of meat are safe from the fire. So he pulls out his spellbook and goes to the Conjuration section in hopes of a spell to summon any sharp object. He did get his wish and found the perfect spell.

Summon dagger

A magic spell that allows you to summon your own dagger.

This spell will continue to drain your mana the longer the dagger exists.

He doesn't care about it draining too much mana as he won't use it for long. He puts his hand out and calls out.

_**Summon Dagger!**_

A purple magic circle appears in his hand as a purple transparent dagger begins to materialize in front of him. After a few moments, the circle disappears and the dagger drops into his hand. He can feel his mana slowly being drained to maintain the dagger's form. He grips hit hard and chops away at the non-burnt meat. After getting all the meat he could, he uses the dagger to cut branches to use as a stick for his meat. He grabs all the remaining branches in the area and bundles them together. He casts his 'Fireball' spell to light up the branches on fire while he brings his stick of meat over the fire to cook it. It took a lot of trial and error, most of his failures including his meat being set on fire by accident but eventually managing to get one right. The meat he got right was golden brown on all sides. He eats the meat and almost lurched it out due to the revolting taste. But he powers through and finishes his meat due to his hunger. He decides to cook the rest of the meat the same way and uses 'Storage' to store the rest of the meat for later use. He also stores the antlers of the deer as well just in case he can sell them for money when he finds civilization. He puts out the fire with his 'Create Water' spell and continues his journey.

* * *

_Time: 10:00 pm_

Throughout the rest of the afternoon and night, he managed to kill 2 deer and some rabbits and store their meat as well. He did eventually had a run-in with the black creature again that resembles the wolf and killed it with no issue as it was alone. He suspects that they usually travel in packs and not alone. Otherwise, they should not be this easy to take out. When nightfall came around, Chris's priorities changed into looking for a cave to stay in the night. Sadly though, he couldn't find a cave in time, so he decided to create a makeshift camp thanks to a pooptube video he found the other day. He remembered the tutorial as much as he could to build a tent. Which is made out of sticks in an A shape formation leaning against a tree for support. The bed consists of leaves that have fallen down. It isn't the most comfortable bed but it will have to do for now.

As Chris lies his head on his bed, he thinks about why he was dragged here in the first place. Here is Chris, a normal high school student who was killed by a robber, his soul was dragged out by the so-called God of Light to kill Salem in this new world that is filled with magic and black creatures that would kill him in a moment's notice. Now while this would be the life of most otaku people out there, Chris isn't one of them. While he liked the idea at the beginning, he realized the hassle of surviving for who knows how long before he can find a village or a city. He also wanted to just go see his parents in the afterlife, not drag another soul with him as well, make that two souls now since this 'Salem' is guaranteed to be going to the afterlife when he finds him? her? He really doesn't know the gender. But if it would keep his parents safe from that monster of a God, then he would do whatever it takes, even if it would mean he would break his mother's promise of being a good person. It doesn't matter anyway since…

**He had blood on his hands, to begin with.**

* * *

**Date when chapter posted: July 8, 2019**

**Date when chapter got reworked: March 25, 2020**

**AN: and here is the second reworked chapter. This chapter was hell a lot shorter than my first reworked chapter. Don't know why. Maybe I didn't want to change much about this chapter. Meh, who cares. Anyway, 46 favorites and 62 followers. Wow, we made a bunch of progress there. Thank you so much! I really do appreciate it really. I really don't know why you read this story though, please tell me in the reviews why though. Because I have seen OC stories written better than this. I'm just an amateur with a hyperactive imagination and yet I have more followers and favorites than some of the OC stories. It's truly mind-boggling really thank you. Shout out to Miasushi for giving her opinions on this story as well. She really is a big help, check out her stories as well. It's good. Anyway still looking for a beta reader still so come and help me will ya. Also I noticed a lot of you who read my fanfic aren't following or favoriting me. So if you enjoy my weird content. Hit that follow and favorite button will ya. It will give me joy.**

**Anyway going to rewrite ch3 and 4 as well. Hopefully not too much though as I'm just going to incorporate some changes due to the rework of ch1 and this one. So hopefully it shouldn't take long. Anyway see ya soon Chow.**


	3. Somethings are best forgotten

But the memories that hang heaviest are the easiest to recall. They hold in their creases the ability to change one's life, organically, forever. Even when you shake them out, they've left permanent wrinkles in the fabric of your soul.

Julie Gregory,

* * *

The forest was gigantic, spacious, and young. Its canopy was overshadowed by redwood, linden, and poplar, and ample openings let enough dancing beams of light through for a patchwork of sprouts to dominate the sloping and slanting ground below.

Coiling branches suspended from a couple of trees, and an array of flowers, which desperately tried to claim the last remnants of light, stood out against the otherwise unchanging forest grounds.

A tumult of beastly sounds, most of which were birds and vermin, reverberated through the air and added to the sounds of the rustling of the leaves and branches of the treetops in the wind.

Unfortunately, this peaceful forest was disturbed as footsteps could be heard throughout the forest. Most of the footsteps came from hoards of black creatures that are shaped like wolves with white masks and red menacing eyes. They were chasing after a human figure who is currently scanning the forest for a clearing he can lead these creatures to. But instead, he gets trapped as there was a cliff in his path. He managed to stop before falling, but now he had to make a choice. Either jump or get eaten alive. But it seems he would need to make his choice now as the black creatures have finally caught up to the figure. They got on their fours and started stalking very gradually towards him. He looked at the cliff, which is a very steep drop and at the black hungry beast who was ready to devour him at a moment's notice. Seeing with no other choice, he walks backward and falls off the cliff.

Now normally a fall from this high would kill the poor man, but then multiple blue magic circles surround the figure as he is plummeting towards the ground. Eventually, he made contact with the ground, but his magic circle absorbed most of the damage and bounced off, forcing him to roll down the hill for a bit. His entire body is now taking severe hits, albeit not as bad as the first impact. Still, it made him quite dizzy before finally coming to a halt. The figure then stood up slowly as his head was spinning before straightening himself as we got a good look at the figure.

It is Chris or Tanner Stormcloud if you would prefer. He had gone through a massive change in terms of appearance. His black hair was far messier and wild than before. His brown eyes have bags under them albeit not noticeable. His young face has some scars on them, mostly on his cheeks. His torso was a white tank top shirt, that is now dirty to the point that the color had faded to brown instead. His arms had lost its bandages, but replacing them was two huge scars on both sides, reminding him of his first encounter with the beasts. His pants had become shorts as he had ripped off the pants leg due to them being inconvenient for escaping. And he has wooden sandals instead of his shoes as those were ripped and torn as well.

Overall, Chris looked as if he went to hell and survived it twice. He looked around for a bit to check if he was safe. But then he suddenly ducked as a paw went over his head for a moment. Chris jumped back to see at least 5 black wolf creatures standing before him. He didn't expect them to actually follow him at all in the first place. But Chris resigned to his fate as he gets in a boxer stance. 2 magic circles appear in both of his hands. One blue magic circle was in the wrist while the other red magic circle was in front of his clenched fist. He looked at the creatures with determined eyes, the same eyes that once held fear in then. Now all he feels is the adrenaline pumping in him as he gestures to them to come at him.

"Come you filthy mutts. I'm ready to crush you," he calls out confidently against them.

* * *

**Play X-encounter by Maon Kurosaki**

* * *

One of the creatures accepts the challenge and charges straight at him. This black creature seems to be much larger than the other, which seems to be also covered in a lot more white spikes as well. He deduced that this one is the leader of the pack. Chris mutters under his breath some spells on him. 3 distinct magic circles cover his entire being for a bit before leaving completely. As the large creature is about to use his claws to strike him again, Chris smirks and easily sidesteps the attack as he brings his fist to the wolf's mask and makes a direct impact. The red magic circle in his hand lights up and an explosion comes afterward, sending the enormous creature straight to the tree, stunning it for a while. The other black creatures, seeing its leader hurt, immediately nodded at each other and began rushing him all at once. Chris expected this as he also charged with all his might. His feet began to glow grey as he jumped, launching him far higher than otherwise possible. He puts both his hands together and conjures a huge fireball at the confused creatures, making a direct impact. He landed with grace but had to jump to the left to avoid getting bitten. The black creature that was blasted was rushing towards him with blinding speed, but surprisingly, he is dodging the attacks very well. He is constantly moving left and right to avoid getting hit. He then rushed forward with his fist glowing and punched it's mask again, which resulted in another explosion, sending it flying towards another tree, which collapsed on the creature and decapitated it.

_'Alright one down, four to go'_

Three black creatures simultaneously jumped at him and forced him to take a step back. The three of them decide to attack as a team. They rushed towards Chris, attacking him alternatively, making it difficult for Chris to keep up with the attacks. One of them managed to catch him and as he was about to get hit, a blue magic circle intercepted the attack and absorbed it. But he still got pushed back and sent flying towards the tree. He slumped down before forcing himself to get up as one of the creatures was about to bite his head. Leaving him no choice, he punches the mouth of the creature, swallowing his hand and half of his arm. He smirks as the head explodes a moment later.

_'Two down, man this is such a pain'_

The two remaining ones rushed towards him and tried to swipe his head off, he managed to get away from the attack as the tree suffered the attack instead. He jumps back and his red magic circle changes to blue as he shoots out two water blades against them. Sadly, they evaded the attack and proceeded to flank him on both sides. Chris looked in between the two creatures as one of them was going to bite while the other one was using its claws. Chris waited a bit before a grey magic circle appeared in front of him and pushed him out of the way. The result was the creature bit the other one's paw. The other wolf punched the one who was biting into it. They begin to fight against one another before one of them gets sliced off in the head by a water blade. The second to the last one, the one that had its paw bitten, roared at Chris as it charged towards him. Chris prepares another water blade before his instincts urge him to jump back. It saved him too as the black creature that he had originally knocked out first, got up and attacked using it's claw as well. Sadly for the creature, the claw smashed the other wolf's mask, resulting in multiple cracks appearing. It bellowed out in pain before collapsing in the ground. It's eyes no longer blazing red.

_'Ok big boy, it's you and me. Let's see what you got'_

The last remaining one, the leader roars out in anger as it seems to be the only one left. Its roar was far louder than the last one, shaking the entire battlefield and shaking Chris as well. The black creature grabs a trunk and throws it towards him. He dives forward to avoid it. The black creature brought it's paw down to crush him. If it weren't for his blue magic circle appearing and absorbing the hits again, his back would have been broken or worst dead. The creature hit the circle two more times before Chris managed to get away from his range of attack. He quickly shoots out two water blades against it, which was battered away easily enough by its bare arms only.

_'Well crap, looks like this one is far more durable than the last four. This would be a good time to retreat now. I am running way low on mana and my spell buffs have just expired.'_

Realizing Chris's predicament, the beast tried to rush at him to end this fight, for it to only hit the air as Chris jumped in the air and floated, 2 grey magic circles were under his feet, blowing gusts of wind to keep him floating. He flew forward and escaped as fast he could away from the huge creature.

* * *

**End X-encounter**

* * *

Chris continued to fly for only a few seconds before his magic circles dissipated without warning, causing him to crash down harshly on the ground. His body was already exhausted due to him running away earlier, adding to the fact that he had to fight as well. His body was aching as he constantly pushed his muscles to the limit despite it protesting against it. He laid down for a while, thinking back on how his journey started so far.

It has been 2 weeks since he had arrived in this new world. He had done so much in such little time that his past self would find it ridiculous since he is normally lazy. Over the past few weeks, he continued to learn new spells from this book of magic. He knew that 'Fireball' and 'Waterfall' wasn't enough for him to survive so he had expanded his offensive options. He had learned a few new spells for offensive purposes.

Air cannon.

A powerful wind spell that fires like a cannon towards your opponent, dealing massive damage.

Does not need channeling

It can be adjusted for the output of the wind.

He did try this spell for a while. It was very effective, effortlessly destroying multiple trees at once. The only issue was that it had a huge recoil on him, usually sending him flying backward. So he used 'Gust' instead, which is the weaker version of 'Air Cannon'. He used 'Gust' for sudden movement just in case he can't move in time and also for flight, which took him a few dips in the pond and crashing through trees to get it right. He also did notice while looking through the pages that some of them are blank. He wasn't sure what to make of it at the time. He assumes that they will just reveal to him when he continues to progress so he didn't pay them mind.

Aqua Slash

A water blade that can be shot out towards your opponents.

It does not require channeling.

This was one of the spells he would use for hunting as it would allow him to kill the animals without having to burn them too badly. He would just aim at their heads and peel off the rest of the meat and cook them. Speaking of cooking, he had cooked a bunch of meat to be stored in his 'Storage'. He stored at least weeks, maybe months of food in there, albeit their taste is still just as terrible. He still wondered how the first humans who discovered cooking for the first time, enjoyed this meat in the first place. It doesn't taste that good at all. Sure, from time to time the meat would taste good but that's probably his mind playing tricks on him since being stuck on this world without human contact for 2 weeks straight. He wasn't so sure anymore if his mind was stable or not. All he knows is that from time to time, he would see someone and have a conversation with them for 30 minutes before disappearing in front of him. But getting back on topic about spells.

Icicle spears

Summons an array of ice spears and launches them.

It does not require channeling.

The number of spears can be adjusted.

This spell he didn't really use often. He did try it and while it is a good spell, he had already good spells that could do just as well. However, this spell did serve another purpose instead.

To see if he can combine two spells at once.

He started experimenting when he found this spell. The spell he did try and still is trying is 'Fireball'. As far as he is aware, there are no known spells that could mask him when he is in a bind. So by using the power of knowledge, he tried to combine both his 'Fireball' and 'Icicle Spears' to see if it is possible.

Turns out it is, to some extent. It's more in the lines of trying to balance the spells together. If he chanted the fireball too long, the ice spear would just melt. If he chanted the ice spears too long, the fire would just die out. He is still in the process of finding the balance of using these spells in conjunction with each other so he can use it as a smoke bomb if he is in trouble. He is also curious if his spells could follow the laws of physics to some extent. An example would be if he could use lighting magic to use electromagnetism, which can be used to attract and repel metallic materials. This was somewhat proven since, in one of his failed attempts of combining spells, his fireball did have steam instead of just smoke in the ice spear. But he would cross that bridge when he gets there. There is one more spell that although it isn't an offensive spell, it is useful in keeping him alive.

Barrier

Conjures up a barrier to absorb damage.

It can absorb a certain amount of damage before breaking apart.

The longer the barrier is held up, the more your mana will be drained.

This spell saved him more times than he can count. He constantly has to use it when he can't dodge the attack usually.

Besides that, he realized another problem. It's the fact that he is just a normal human who really can't do much against the black creatures. Even though his body was buffed to fare in this world better, his scars on his arms indicate otherwise. Luckily for him, there are certain buffs that do help him out in fights like these. The first spell is Boost.

Boost.

A status magic effect that gives the user increase strength.

It does not need to be channeled.

The effect lasts for 2 minutes.

The Boost spell increases his physical power, allowing him to hit harder than before and gives him a little speed off. This effect is really useful especially for the bear since he couldn't punch its bone mask with his strength alone. The next spell is Protection.

Protection

A status magic effect that increases the target's defense. Allowing normal humans to take hits that are otherwise considered fatal.

Does not need to be channeled

The effect lasts for 2 minutes.

He found out about this spell on the 2nd day. It was really useful in a lot of situations where he got hurt constantly. Example being, that he had his arm eaten by the wolf when he shoved his arm in the beast's mouth. It would have probably been torn apart if it hadn't been for that spell. Anyway, this next spell really takes the cake on being the most useful out of all the spells he used. It's called Hyper Awareness.

Hyper Awareness.

A status magic effect that increases the target reaction speed to superhuman levels.

It does not need to be channeled.

The effect lasts for 2 minutes.

With this spell, it allows him to react to the danger that otherwise would have killed him even with Protection. These spells helped him ensure his survival against these black creatures. Although, he did try using a sword as well. The idea came to him when he was peeling off the meat of the deer. He looked up in the book if there are any other weapons that he can summon. Turns out that he is not limited to just daggers. Swords, axes, maces, spears and a bunch of medieval weapons were available to him. It still followed the same rules as the dagger where it will constantly drain his mana when summoned. He summoned a sword and started practicing with it. He got used to the sword and tried to fight the black creature with only his buff spells and his swords. Unfortunately for him, his inexperience almost cost him his life. He did manage to end it quickly though and stopped with the swordplay until he managed to find a teacher to teach him. So in order for him to fight against these dark creatures without using any weapons, he made his fists his weapon. By putting 'Barrier' on his hands, it will absorb any damage he may inflict on himself when he punches. He also places 'Fireball' so that his hits would be more devastating. With his 'Boost' buff as well, he made a makeshift gauntlet using his spells. But he still does practice using swords though to become more accustomed to it when he does finally train properly.

He also hunted more animals during the last few weeks. Mostly deer though, but there were others such as a moose and rabbits. He usually collects their hides and antlers and stores them away for either use or to sell. The meat that he cooks also gets stored there when he doesn't finish them to save time when he can't hunt down for food. But his real goal right now is to find any sign of civilization, he tries to find a road. It has been 2 weeks already and he still couldn't find anything besides more trees and more of those creatures which he still has no name for. This is almost actually hopeless. What if he would be stuck in some sort of large forest that would take months to leave. Sure he has enough food for weeks, the water he can just summon anytime to drink and use to wash. But he is unfortunately smelly. Even if he just uses the water to clean himself. It's not enough to remove the stench and sweat from his clothes since he just uses water. His clothes are ripped and dirty because of the fights he has to go through. At this point, his boots worn down too quickly so he had to make a sandal just by using wood and leaves. So living in the wild is not the best place to be in right now. He has to find something anything so he can-

His thoughts stopped as he looked in front of me and found something that he had been looking for for 2 weeks.

"THE ROAAAAAAD!"

_'Finally some hope in this place'_. He rushed to the path that was set out there. After getting to the stone path. He looked to his left and right to see if there are any villages nearby. Turns out nothing came out of his vision.

He let out a tired sigh.

_'Oh well, at least there are signs of civilization out in this dense and large forest'_. So he looked at the sun, seeing it set in the west, he decided that he will go west, hopefully finding a village real soon or anything that indicates that humans live in this godforsaken island.

* * *

_The next day._

_Location: Unknown Road_

_Time: 4:00 pm_

'_Is it just me, or did the clouds get darker?. Maybe it's going to rain soon. I have been following this road all day and it seems I'm not gonna be able to reach the village. If there is any village anyway. I still hope it's a city as I need to change a new set of clothes and I need to sleep in a comfortable bed in a hotel. But I'll take anything at this point. I just wanna rest on a nice bed and just sleep for eternity-'_

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw something in the distance. Something circular but small. He squinted his eyes at it to see it better. It seems to be broken though but why? Then his mind remembered the one thing that roamed this world.

The black creatures.

Worried about the village, he decided to run to the circular thing in the distance. As he can see it better it's clear that it's a gate and it seemed to be broken. He hoped that he wasn't too late and he can help those people in there. But as he kept on running, his dread became worse as he pushed the broken remains of the gate and... saw what remained of the village.

It was... destroyed. Wooden homes were shattered and cobblestone walls were strewn along the path. The entire village burned in a sea of red, yellow and orange. The young boy watched as the flames ripped their way through the buildings around him, tendrils of smoke reaching desperately into the sky as if trying to escape the blazing inferno below. It seems nothing would be left. It didn't look like the work of the black creatures, it was evident that humans caused this disaster.'_Why? Why do this? Why are you fighting among yourselves when there are the black creatures that need to be killed. What's the point of murdering everybody?_'

He continued walking through the burning village while preparing his makeshift gauntlet just in case he ran into trouble. He searched around for anybody, anybody that is still alive in this village. He managed to spot someone. Worried, he decided to jog to the man who was on the wall, lying there... covered in blood, a hole in his chest.

'_Oh god. This is... terrible. Why? Why do this? I don't understand. Sure I understand that in our world that we don't have those black creatures and humans are very easily corruptible due to the government and such. But.. why? I just don't understand…'_ he looked at the man that was lying there, dead on the wall.

He wore simple leather armor with leather boots, a leather helmet and he has a simple iron sword on his hand. His face tells me that he was afraid to fight. Not surprising considering that he most likely had to fight his own kind. He stared at the body for what seems like hours, remembering my own grandparent's death...

* * *

_Flashback_

_Location: New York City._

_Time: 3:00pm_

Chris was going out with his uncle to eat and bond together with just the two. Ever since Chris's father passed away, his uncle was upset that he could not spend time with him. So he decided to take care of Chris as his last wish.

Chris and his uncle decided to eat together so they can get to know one another. After that, they decided to play in some of the arcades nearby. The one thing about his uncle is that he is really good at games. This was surprising to Chris, considering that he always played more than anyone else in the house. Afterward, they decided to go home so they can continue bonding together with his siblings as well. While on their way home, his uncle noticed Chris a bit gloomy. So he decided to ask:

"Hey, kid. You okay there?"

Chris looked away from the window he was facing his uncle and responded. "I'm good uncle, why?"

"Well, you seem awfully upset. Is something bothering you?"

Chris did not respond for a good while, looking down for a bit. Eventually, he faces back at him to reply

"Well, it's just that... I rarely spend time with father because he always goes to work outside. And now he is gone... I'll never be able to spend time with him again." Chris finished with a bit of tear in his face.

The uncle decided to get his napkin from his polo shirt and wipe his tears.

"I'm sorry that my brother never got to spend enough time with your kiddo. But you should know that he worked really hard to support you and your family."

"I know but-"

"Stop."

He sighs a bit before thinking in his next choice of words. After thinking for a bit he decided to give a bit of wisdom to the young boy.

"Your father really wanted to spend as much time with you as possible. That's why he took the risk of that mission so that he can be with all of you. You can't blame him for trying, you know? He's always trying his best to be the best father he can be to you."

Chris did not say anything and just went back to staring at the window. After all, his uncle was right. He did the best he could do, being a father to you and your siblings and working hard to earn money as a marine.

"I just wish he could come back." Chris finally said with a sigh.

His uncle put an arm around him and pulled him into a hug.

"I know Chris. I know."

Chris started sobbing quietly as his uncle felt the tears in his shirt. He let him cry for a few minutes before he let go.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay, alright? I mean you still got your grandparents to take care of you as well as your sister you need to take care of. Besides, I'll make sure that money isn't an issue."

Chris gives a little smile saying:

"Ok, you're right. I'll be strong. For my parents and my sister."

His uncle smiles as well and he looks forward. Passing by some familiar landmarks on his way to the house. Eventually, they reach the village guardhouse. After being granted safe passage by him, They proceed to go to the house. A little while later they reached the house but something felt wrong. There were 2 police cars parked in front of the house, and his uncle looked worried. Even Chris felt concerned as he looked up to his uncle to ask him.

"Did we do something wrong?"

His uncle wasn't so sure what to reply to him, considering he saw Chris shaking anxiously but he decided to reassure him.

"No I'm pretty sure they are there to ask quest-

But he stops as he noticed another thing.

There was yellow police tape wrapped all over the entrance. His uncle paid the driver and got out of the cab with Chris holding his hand. He sees there are 2 male police officers looking over the police tapes. Worrying something was wrong, he decided to sprint over there, catching the 2 officer's attention. One of the male officers said:

"Are you Drake Moore?"

"Yes officer, is something wrong?" Chris's uncle replied nervously as he looked over to his nephew getting more and more nervous around the police officers, but there wasn't much he could do at the moment.

"Well..." The police officer begins. "I'm sorry, but M.s. Violet and Mr. Daran, as well as their grandchild, were found dead in their home. We believe it to be a homicide."

Drake's face was in total shock and horror as he heard this news. Chris was not faring any better. In fact, his face seemed like he was about to cry. Instead of bursting into tears, he decided to run through the police tape to find them.

One of the police officers tried to grab him but was too slow. Drake and the other officer ran after Chris to try and stop him.

"KID WAIT!" Drake called out but to no avail, as Chris kept on running until he went inside the house and...

Drake and the officer finally managed to catch up to him. Drake's face widened in horror as he looked down at the faces of Chris's grandparents, as they laid dead on the floor. Chris's legs trembled as he took a step towards them before he knelt down to the body and started to sob.

A broken voice came out between his tears:

"Please… You can't be gone. I-I can't lose you too. Please..."

Chris continued to cry and cry, as he tried to shake their lifeless bodies awake. Their limbs laid unmoving, their eyes lifeless. They were gone. To this side, Drake saw the final body, a young girl, no older than 7 years old. Chris looked to what his uncle stared at, and the tears stopped as he froze. Sorrow replaced by shock, he moved toward the girl, reaching a hand out to her.

"No…Rachel? Please, no…"

Chris shook the girl's body, as shock turned to fear, and then panic, as he hoped for a response. But she gave no reply. Nothing but lifeless eyes and unmoving limbs. Chris hugged the corpse as the boy's broken cries echoed through the empty house.

* * *

_Flashback Ends_

Chris's mind snapped back to reality after remembering that horrible experience. His heart is still racing from reliving the memories, he took a look around as he gathered his thoughts. The fires have mostly died, and it looks like the sun is beginning to set.

'_How long did I zone out for?'_

He decided to look around for any other bodies and bury them. They deserve at least a proper burial. He then took the sword of the fallen guard, used his water spell to wipe the blood, took his sheath and begins to trek out of the village.

* * *

_Two weeks later_

_Location: Unknown Street_

_Time: 2:00 pm_

It has been 2 weeks since he visited that village. Day and night, he worked himself to exhaustion. Every time he had time to think, he would remember them. Their lifeless eyes, their bloodied corpse and the smell of blood in the air. Sleep never came easy, and he would constantly wake up in cold sweat too many times to count.

He just kept walking. Kept moving. Kept fighting. These black creatures never seemed to let up, and they never stopped coming. He was shocked that more of these creatures appeared since he visited that village. Could he be attracting them somehow? Then again, it could just be bad timing. He kept on walking for what seemed like forever until he heard something.

*Crackles*

*Rumble*

*Boom*

He hears explosions and lightning bolts from a distance. He decided to run to where he heard it from. As he ran, the sky turned dark for a brief moment, before it went back to normal. After running for a while, he found the source of the sounds.

He found a small open clearing in the road. As I look closer into it. He sees 4 figures, two of them on the ground, one of them seems to be injured while another one looks completely fine.

The one that was injured was a girl. She has a light brown complexion, with shoulder-length, straight brown hair. She wore a long, green cloak, over a white blouse and brown leather armor. Her light armor was accented with golden bracers and boots.

She held what seemed like a staff with a red crystal attached to it and seemed to be using it as support.

Then there were two figures on the ground. One of the figures, a woman with medium-brown skin and dark, red eyes, her hair was a light, mint-green which seemed to be tied in a ponytail. She dressed light, a short olive-colored crop top, torn brown chaps, and dark green pants.

The next figure was a well-built young man who looked a bit pale, with gray eyes hair, messily slicked. He wore a slate gray and black jacket. His pants were dark orange, and he wore a pair of black boots.

The last figure who is standing was a woman with fair skin, ashen-black hair and bright amber eyes.

She wore a dark-red, dress with yellow designs. There was a blue feather-like accessory on her right hip, at the top of an open portion of her dress. She has dark, glass, high-heeled shoes and a jeweled anklet on her right leg.

On her upper back, in the keyhole of her dress, she has a black tattoo of what appeared to be a heart-shaped insignia inside.

She also seems to have a bow on her hands as well. But what really struck Chris off was her weird glove on her right hand. The glove was white, elbow-length and marked with a red symbol on the back of the hand, a stylized representation of an eye. Talk about Creepy.

But anyway the girl in the red dress was behind the girl with brown hair, aiming the bow at her.. What he found odd was the fact that she is trying to shoot without arrows. But then he sees the arrow materialize inside the bow. As the brown-haired girl was about to hit the green-haired girl with her staff, she was shot in the back by the girl in the red dress. The brown-haired girl falls to the ground as the arrow begins to disappear. The boy and green girl from the ground start to get up slowly and grab the brown-haired girl in her shoulders and force her to kneel. Then he sees the girl in the red dress begin to walk towards her as her bow disappears and she slowly holds out her gloved hand towards her.

Time seems to move slowly as he begins internally to panic.

'_What should I do?_

_Should I try to distract them and get the brown-haired girl out of there as well as try to escape? Or should I confront them and fight them all at once? Granted, they are all weakened but the red girl seemed like she wasn't injured or fazed at all. What should i do? What can I do?_

_Should I run?_

_Or should I fight them and hope to win?_

_But why should I try anyway? I barely have enough strength as it is, not to mention he doesn't know who either these people are. Maybe the one that is dying is some sort of villain and these guys are the good ones. I have no stake in this but…_

_Is it alright for me to walk away while ignoring someone dying in front of me?_

As Chris debated in his mind, he remembers the reason why he was sent here in the first place. He remembers dying in the flower shop by the robber. He was there because he saw the shop getting robbed. He remembers why he did that in the first place.

Because he made a promise to his mother to be a good person.

And he will do whatever it takes to keep that promise.

* * *

**Date when chapter posted: July 18 2019**

**Date when chapter updated: April 4, 2020.**

**A/N: this should have been posted earlier, but I was too busy playing anime games, I kinda got sidetracked lol. Anyway thank you for reading my defend fanfic. If you are new here or have been reading my fanfic, please leave a follow, favorite and review. It would help me a lot immensely. Anyway see ya later Chow.**

**Also I will be releasing a new fanfic soon, won't tell u what it is yet. Find out for urself**


	4. Rescue

It dawns on you one day... how precious your life is and how not okay it is for anyone, ever, to cause you any amount of suffering, ever. Then the next time you step out the door you look at everyone and you're thinking, "My life is precious and you're not allowed to hurt me.

C. JoyBell C.

* * *

'_I've made my decision.'_

He takes a deep breath to calm himself so he could give it his best shot. '_I'm gonna rescue her and try to escape safely. I need to think of a plan on how I'm gonna do this. '_

As he scanned the field, nothing came to mind. '_I can't come up with anything dammit! There has got to be some way, there's always a way.`` It_ was then that an idea hit him._ 'Yes... yes, yes this could work! If I can pull it off that is… no no no! I have to pull it off. If not… stop it! No more negative thoughts, just do it!'_

_``I just hope this idea is the right one, because it may cost both of our lives.' _He thought as he began to channel a Fireball in his hand. But while channeling his Fireball. He starts to cast another spell in the same hand.

The red magic circle in his hand is now being surrounded by a small light blue circle. This seemed to cause his Fireball to slowly start being shrouded in ice, the shape was now forming into a spear. After fully channeling. His Fireball was now covered in an ice spear. But the flames of the initial spell were still glowing inside the spear. Tanner had successfully combined 2 spells creating a new one.

_'Yes, it worked! Now let's see if it actually does what I need it to. `_ He thought as he aimed his fire-ice spear at the ground where all the figures were standing. He sees the girl in red about to put her gloved hand unto the brown-haired girl's face. He launches the spear at the last second, flying through the air at high speeds. The green-haired girl noticed this and called to her allies.

"Everyone! Watch out!" she shouted as she moved away.

The 3 attackers jump back to avoid the attack. What they didn't know was the attack was never meant to hit them at all. The spear hit the ground in a small explosion, it was followed by a cloud of mist filling the entire clearing.

_'Alright, it worked as I predicted! Now I just gotta sneak in there and rescue her.'_ He immediately followed through with the last part of his plan. He uses the Boost spell and Hyper-Awareness spell on himself, just in case things get out of control. Tanner ran through the smoke and quickly spotted the girl, lying down on the ground. He picked her up on his back and started sprinting as fast as he could. He didn't pick any specific direction. He just ran the opposite way of where those attackers were. He managed to get into the forest just in time as the mist cleared.

Tanner's idea had worked and he escaped with his life while also saving another's. But every action has consequences, both good or bad, He just doesn't know it yet.

* * *

As the smoke clears, the three figures look around for their attacker, weapons raised, but they find nothing. Even their supposed target disappeared. Two of them were disappointed, while the third one...

"DAMMMMMM ITTTTTTTTTT!"

The woman in red yells out of frustration as she and her lackeys failed to kill the girl. '_Why? Why did I let this happen? I was too damn relaxed for my own good. I let my guard down for one moment and BOOM. The Fall maiden has disappeared right in front of me. The Queen will not be pleased. It took months just to try and hunt her down. And now they to track her all over again.'_

"Who did this?!" She screamed in fury. "Who could have ruined our plan? Who?!"

She continues to yell in a fit of rage. _'How could I let this happen?' _She thought to herself. _'I was supposed to get this power so I could become strong._' Because she hated being weak. She would find whoever took her prey and enjoy breaking them.

The girl with the green hair approached her and attempted to calm her down with words.

"Cinder please try to calm down. Everything was perfect she was alone and we fooled her just like you said. You couldn't have predicted this!"

Cinder turns her attention to the voice. It was Emerald, the girl with the green minted hair. She had been loyal to Cinder ever since she picked her up from the streets. Blinded by rage, she grabbed Emerald by the throat, squeezing until the girl began gasping for air.

Emerald's voice came out in weak gasps. "Cind-*wheezing*-er...please..."

Cinder, now realizing who she was grabbing, drops Emerald to the ground. She coughed and hacked, as she regained her breath.

A low whistle came from behind them, as a third voice spoke up. "Wow, never seen you this mad before. Never thought I'd see the day you where you are as pissed as this."

Cinder now looked at the grey-haired man who spoke to her. Mercury, another loyal servant of hers. Her original objective was to recruit his father, but he was killed by his own son. Seeing the skill he displayed against his own father, naturally, she picked him. Although not as loyal as Emerald, he still does his job well regardless.

"Is it really important we get her now? I mean we can just try to track her down again. No big deal."

Cinder gives Mercury a cold glare. She needed to get that power as soon as possible. She needed her power to convince Adam and The White Fang to join her side and raid Beacon. She needed this power to also unlock the vault that guards the Relic of Choice. She needed this power, she yearned for it. This would give her absolute control, and that was all she really wanted.

Because she hated being weak. She hated being ordered around. She hated having no control. And lastly, she hated this unfair world.

"Ok, ok, it seems important I won't ask." Mercury puts his hands up in defeat.

"Don't ask. Obey." Cinder said in a very cold voice, with hints of rage inside.

Emerald, finally being able to get up, bows to Cinder.

"Yes Ma'am," she says, in complete obedience.

Mercury scoffs at her words but asks: "Whatever, anyways do you have any clue as to who could be responsible for screwing this mission?"

Cinder begins to muse on the possible suspects for a moment. She would have thought at first that one of the professional huntsmen that Ozpin has trusted had stopped her, but that didn't seem to be the case. She didn't see the attack coming either. It was flying through the air so fast that if it wasn't for Emerald, it would have hurt her. So she decided to ask Emerald.

"Emerald, what did you see exactly?"

Emerald, not paying attention perks her head up when she hears her name.

"Umm Ma'am can you repeat that again."

Cinder rubbed her temples, repeating herself. "What I mean is, what did you see from that attack."

"Oh! Well, I couldn't see the attack clearly. But I believe it is some sort of ice spear."

Cinder widened her eyes at her answer. '_An ice spear? What did that mean?'_ Sure someone could have just used ice dust to attack, but that ice spear was not normal, It shouldn't have caused a small explosion like that. Plus that amount of mist that covered our vision so they could escape. Ice dust does not react that way as far as she was aware. '_Then again, maybe Atlas found another way to manipulate dust in their ongoing experiments.'_ But her spies would have informed her of such changes. '_So what could it possibly be? A Semblance? Maybe but...'_ Cinder took a minute before she realized who it could have been.

'_**The Winter Maiden.'**_

It makes perfect sense. The Winter Maiden has perfect control over water and ice. Surely her ice spear could have been modified to do something like this. '_But why? Why is she here and not in Atlas when her spies informed her she was there a week ago?'_ It confused her but maybe she's working with Ozpin.

It would make sense. He might have known that the Fall Maiden was being hunted and thus he called the Winter Maiden for help. But that would mean he has the Winter and Fall Maiden at his side. The queen might not be happy about this. Cinder focused her attention on her green-haired subordinate once again.

"Emerald do you know where the spear came from?"

"In that direction Ma'am." Emerald points to the forest.

'_Damn, damn, damn!'_ she screamed in her head. There's no point in chasing her down now. They wouldn't be able to track her on the road now. And even if they did find them, it would be impossible to fight both of the maidens at the same time. But they don't need to track them. After all, she has any idea where they will reside anyway.

"Mercury, Emerald. We will be leaving immediately, so prepare for a long walk back to base."

Mercury was a little baffled by Cinder's decision. He's known Cinder long enough to see that she would never back down on a target like this. That's why this action confused him. Mercury is a very vocal person, he almost always spoke what was on his mind. And something like this, well, he just had to ask Cinder about it...

"But what about the girl? We're not gonna track her down? You don't ever let your targets go."

Cinder smiles. "We don't need to track them down. If I'm thinking of taking her, then we already know her next location. And I'm very sure I know who interfered ."

Mercury tilts his head in confusion. "You do? That was quick."

Emerald was also confused about how Cinder knew of their objective's whereabouts. "Where do you think they will go?"

Cinder laughs at their questions condescendingly. "Oh, my loyal servants. Their next destination is easily predictable. We have been there before after all."

Mercury and Emerald were still stumped on the issue while Cinder just laughed at their obliviousness. The plan may have not gone the way she wanted, but this is a much better outcome. Not only will she get the powers of the Fall Maiden, but she will also get the powers of the Winter Maiden as well. This will make her job so much easier. She can raid Beacon and get two maidens at the time. It's like hitting two birds with one stone. All she needs is a little help from some friends.

Cinder knew she was going to enjoy this so much.

Unbeknownst to them, a crow perched upon a tree was watching them as they left. As soon as it knew there was no one around it, it flew away.

* * *

_Location: Unknown Forest_

_Time: 4:00 pm_

After that suicidal plan that he came up with on the spot, Tanner kept on running through the forest. He was hoping to lose the attackers through the thick flora of that particular area. As the Boost effect began to wear off, the weight quickly shifted- almost becoming too heavy for him to withstand. It resulted in him nearly dropping to the ground face first. Luckily he managed to keep his balance before setting the girl down gently. He lowered himself and checked her back for the injury. He quickly found the wound from that woman's arrow. He raised his hand to the injury, and said out loud;

_**"HEAL!"**_

Heal

This spell allows the user to heal any injury.

It cannot heal status effects or regenerate lost limbs.

Needs to be channeled to take full effect.

The green magic circle appeared on his hand as he began to heal her. The wound slowly closed up, taking a few minutes to restore itself. Afterward, he lifted her slowly, wrapping one arm around her waist while having her arm wrapped around his neck and using his arm to support her. He carried her like this for about an hour before setting her down. He had to start a campfire to properly rest himself after the long and tiring walk. After setting it all up, he laid down on the grass, worn out from carrying the girl non-stop.

_'Man, I really need to start exercising more. I can't just keep relying on my spells to save me. I guess it doesn't really matter though, because at the very least she's safe.'_ He thought as he stared into the blue clear skies. He did it. He managed to save at least one person. He just wished he could have saved his family and the village.

...

_'No no time for those thoughts now. I'm here and she's alive and breathing. I saved a life and that's all that matters right now.'_

Tanner got to work on the food by using 'Storage' to collect the raw meat he has. As he started to cook the meat, he realized that he hadn't thought about what he was gonna do next. '_Should I try to look for the road again? I mean sure, I still need to get to the next town, but it's possible they might be hunting us down. I should've thought this through, I just got into this world and I've already made enemies _.'

Sure those people don't know his physical appearance. But it's more likely that they'll continue to track down the girl anyways. '_Ah damnit, why, Why would they go through this much trouble just for this one girl?'_ He was curious, frustrated, and at the same time, he wasn't one to pry into secrets. Tanner took a few deep breaths in order to calm himself. It was his choice that led to this predicament, it wasn't the girl's fault. _'No need to push these questions onto her. She wasn't even awake and she didn't know him either. She'd definitely feel uncomfortable being asked about her life. _'

He will just have to wait for the right moment to ask them once she is comfortable enough. It would be better to gain her trust first. He, unfortunately, he couldn't save her staff. That meant he would have to do all the fighting for now. He wasn't sure if they could flee next time they got into a battle like that. His plan might not work again.

'_I need to really start amping up my training or else I'm gonna pay the price.''_ He had slacked off due to his depression. But now, not only did he have to face off against those people, but someone's life was also at stake. _'I won't abandon her, it'd be idiotic to do something like that anyway.'_ Now he must bear arms again, he could not protect his family. But things are different this time. Now he has the power to protect those who are still alive and who cannot fight for themselves. He would-

His thoughts were interrupted as the girl began to wake up. Tanner chose to prepare her a piece of meat on a stick with some water beside it. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked around for a second before she noticed Tanner. The girl jolted back in surprise, her eyes widened, shock was written all over her face.

"Hey miss, don't panic uh, Here! I got some food and water." He said, trying to be as friendly as possible in this unfamiliar situation.

She panics which was the opposite of what Tanner wanted but it was to be expected. Following her panic was some sort of wind attack aimed straight at Tanner. The force of the attack was surprisingly strong. It hit Tanner point-blank knocking him against a tree. The wind continued it's assault furiously pinning him to the tree.

"Who are you? What do you want from me." Her voice was cold and challenging showing her mood at the moment. , but even through that, he could tell there was some fear behind her words. Not surprising considering she was just attacked about 2 hours ago.

"Don't w-worry I'm not th-the one who hurt you. I-I rescued y-you." It was a struggle to talk through the strong wind but he manages to convey his message to her. She widened her eyes in surprise.

"Wait. You rescued me?" She looked confused as she looks around for those attackers, but found no one else around them.

The winds were beginning to crush him, as he strained against the force. "Y-yes I rescued you. N-now can you p-please put m-me down. Y-your hurting me."

The girl narrowed her eyes at Tanner, it seems she was still suspicious of him. "How do I know you're not with them? Or that this isn't just some illusion!" She held her hand up towards him, Tanner was finding it harder to breathe. He was thinking of some way to get out of this situation but it was almost hopeless.

"I was just passing by when I saw you being attacked by those three people. I decided to help since you were about to be killed please believe me!" The girl looked deep into his frightened and desperate eyes. She could see that he was telling the truth. That didn't mean she wasn't cautious though.

The girl looked around hesitantly before the wind stopped, making Tanner fall to the grass. The woman used her wind to slow his fall and put him down gently before he could get badly injured. She walked up to him and put her hand out to help him up.

"I'm really sorry, I was just so scared and I thought you were with them." she apologized as she helped him up. That hostile stare quickly changed to one of concern. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Everywhere. "Nah, it's fine. I'm tougher than I look." He gave her a soft smile, appreciating the gesture. "I should be the one asking you that."

As he mentioned it, she began looking over her body for any injuries. Surprised to not find anything significant, she focused back on her savior. Smiling she replied to him. "It seems I'm quite fine myself." Her demeanor quickly changed, becoming serious once again.

``I_ swear, her mood changes with the seasons._`` He thought to himself.

"Still, I owe you my life, you risked your life for me and the first thing I did was attack you." She looked guilty as she brought it up, as she bowed her head a bit. "How can I make it up to you?

Tanner sighed and pondered about it for a moment. He didn't really know what to ask of her._ 'I mean, this is actually the first time that a girl actually begged me to "forgive her"'_. He pondered on that thought, this moment would make all the boys jealous back home.

'_I mean come on! She's beautiful and has a nice voice... There are so many things I could do with her and she would oblige without a second thought.' He shook_ his head to clear his mind off... perverted thoughts. _'I'm a teenage boy, I can't help my raging hormones. .'_

Tanner didn't know it but he was blushing quite a bit, so much so that the girl noticed. She wondered why he was blushing so hard. Then she realized what she said.

_'Wording it the way I did, heh he's a bit of a perv huh?' _She thought before smiling mischievously, she decided to mess with her savior a little.

Tanner went with the safer option. "Well, you can just tell me your name."

The girl peered up at Tanner. "Is that it?" She begins to change her expression, leaning into her smiling. "Or." Her voice softened, taking on a seductive tone. "Do you want something more?"

_'What the heck!? What's with the sudden seduction? Is she that kind of girl?' _His thoughts raced as he began to blush even more. He couldn't help his face becoming completely red. He took a step back to get a little bit of distance, anything to control himself.

The girl noticing his reaction covered her mouth to stifle a soft giggle. It proved futile, as she gave in to full-blown laughter.

Tanner, now feeling embarrassed, lets out a frustrated groan as he realized that he got played. ``_I didn't expect that kind of teasing from her. Especially since she was about to die back there.'_

The girl's laughter continued on for a few moments more before she regained control. "I'm so sorry, it was not my intention to tease you like that, but seeing your reaction to that was priceless." She apologized, but the bemused smile said she didn't feel _too _bad about it.

*groan*

Tanner knew something like this would happen. He gave a weak smile as he looked away awkwardly. _'Damn, made an ass of myself again didn't I?'_

The girl notices his face and decides to speak. "Hey, I'm sorry ok? You are just too serious, I wanted to relax you a bit. Besides, I needed that as well, considering I almost died back Back." Back to remorse. Tanner wasn't sure if he would consider her bipolar, or just a very emotional person.

"It's fine, really I uh well." He gave her a reassuring smile, "I'm used to it after all." _'Crap, wrong words! Go back, go back! Ahh, I'm an idiot!' _

The awkward silence hung in the air for a couple of seconds, Then the girl cleared her throat before speaking and putting her hand out. "Let's… let's start over, okay? My name is Amber Autmnus. Once again, I truly appreciate you for saving my life."

_'Wow, interesting, so her name is similar to a season.'_ "My name is Chr-" he stopped before he could say his real name. He remembered the new name that the God of Light gave him so he decided to use that instead."My name is Tanner Stormcloud." He corrected himself as he shook her hand, face still bright red and looking away. As he turned back he saw her expression.

A wide smile, barely holding back another fit of giggles. Her eyes were almost dancing with mirth, and Tanner found it hard to not reciprocate.

'_Shit' _he thought, trying to avoid the infectious laughter bubbling up. _'Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't...'_

The dam broke.

They stared at each other for a moment before raucous laughter took them. Finally, he managed to relieve the tension in the air. Amber now looked down at the spilled water and meat.

"Oh, I'm sorry for forcing you to drop your food and water."

Tanner looks at where Amber is facing. "Oh. Actually, that food was supposed to be for you."

Amber looks down in shame. "Oh... I'm sorry for making you waste-"

"Calm down Amber it's okay I have more" Amber was still ashamed at her actions.

"But you made it for me and you didn't have to. You already saved m-"

But her words were interrupted as she sees Tanner pulling a piece of meat from what looks like a purple circle. This surprised Amber quite a bit, who stumbled back in shock. Tanner looked to Amber, confused.

"See? I have more food. Hmm? Why are you surprised? I'm just pulling meat from my Storage."

'Storage?' Amber thought for a moment. _'What does he mean by storage? Is that his semblance maybe? Well Sure, but then how did he manage to rescue me?'_ While Tanner puts a stick on the meat and slowly cooks it, she asks him about his escape.

"Hey, how did you rescue me anyway?"

Tanner looks to her and responds calmly...

"Well, it was actually more of a test than anything. I thought of it on the spot and I doubted it would work. but amazingly it did."

Amber was confused by that statement. "What do you mean you doubted its success? "

Tanner stands up and puts his right hand out. "It's kinda difficult to explain. Well, I guess it's better to show you."

Amber's attention was drawn to his hand, she saw a red circle appear on it. _'So his semblance is some sort of glyph thing?'_ She thought as she saw some fire gathering on top of it. She was speechless, to say the least. She could feel something from him. An energy similar to her own.

Magic. It had to be.

She was still at a loss for words, she thought that she'd never see another magic-user. She definitely didn't ever expect to be saved by one.

The guy kept on surprising her, the red circle was now being outlined with a blue circle, covering the fire with ice. This event completely amazed and flabbergasted her. She never saw anyone combining 2 opposite elements like this. _'Not even the Maidens could do this' _ her thoughts were interrupted as he shot the ice spear into the sky. Amber was then treated to the spell exploding into a cloud of mist. She stared at Tanner in complete disbelief at what she just witnessed.

Tanner scratches the back of his head in slight embarrassment. "I know, I was surprised as well. I mean I didn't know I could combine 2 opposite elements and create a new spell altogether."

She was dumbfounded at this information. Did she just stumble upon another magic-user? She was told that all magic users were extinct a long time ago. She only knew about magic because the day she inherited her maiden powers. Her "magic" as she often referred to it, told her that magic was extinct long ago before the current world of Aura. Her magic also informed her that there were only 6 wielders of magic including herself left. She was also warned about the fact that her powers could be easily stolen by any girl. It was evident by her assailants who caught her by surprise not too long ago. But here is Tanner who could wield magic like no big deal. But what plagued her mind is how? How could he wield magic when he is a boy? Could it be one of those powerful magic wielders that her "magic" talked about? But she dismissed that thought, she doesn't feel that much power from Tanner to be the all-powerful magic wielder. So If it's not him then who is he really? Could it be possible that maybe there are more magic wielders than she thought? Maybe she could ask them for help to control her maiden powers more efficiently maybe she could-

Her thoughts were interrupted as she was given a stick with meat on it. She looked to Tanner in a dumbfounded way. She was gonna be brain dead if she kept getting suddenly surprised. Tanner looked at her confused at her expression. "Uhh, you gonna take the meat or what? Just prepare for the terrible taste of the meat."

Amber accepted the meat and started eating, muttering a thanks before she continued to consume the meat.

Tanner picks up the leaf cup on the ground and casts "Create Water" on it and as the name implies water fills the cup. Amber just stared in amazement as she saw Tanner just using his magic for the simplest things. Tanner handed her the leaf cup which she accepted gratefully.

...

After finishing her meal she decides to ask him a question:

"So how did you get your magic anyway?" Amber hoped she didn't ask a question that was too personal. But at the same time, she was just so curious about this phenomenon.

Tanner flinched at this question. _'Crap. I can't tell her I'm from another world who was given magic by a deity. She probably wouldn't believe me anyway. But well, I don't want the hassle of being asked too many questions.'_ Tanner began to make up a story in his mind all about how he got his magic. After a few moments of painful silence and him deep into thought, Amber captured his attention.

"Oh well, if it's a touchy subject, then I won't ask about it any further. I was just curious." As she says that she bows her head down apologetically. Tanner finally being able to come up with a made-up story decides to tell her:

"Oh no, it's nothing like that. My father actually gave me his magic." _'Wow that didn't sound convincing at all, and I'm the one who made up that story'_

Amber was taken aback by that statement alone. _'His father just gave magic to him just like that? Is that even possible? '_ She was more interested than ever now. Now she really wanted to meet his father and ask him if she could teach her how to properly use her maiden powers.

"So where's your father now."

Tanner flinched at her question. He was unfortunately still having nightmares about his grandparent's death, he can't help but think about how his father died. He had received the news one year after Rachel was born. Turns out he died due to a trap set by the terrorists in Afghanistan. He couldn't possibly process that, much less believe it. He just thought that they were messing with him. But when the body was actually brought back in a coffin. He... refused to believe it was real, he just couldn't comprehend it. He kept telling himself that "This is just a nightmare." "He's not dead." "He is alive." "This is just a soldier that looks like my father." But he eventually realized that his father was really gone. He could not stop crying for days, maybe even weeks. He could not remember how long it had been since then. So he decided to give Amber a half-truth.

"Well... He is no longer around. He died defending the village from those bandits before lending me his magic." He said with pain in his voice.

Amber looked down in guilt as she never wanted to bring a very painful topic for the person who rescued her. "I'm sorry. He sounds like he was a good person."

Tanner looks at Amber and gives her a small smile. "Yeah, he was ." He finishes as he stares into the orange sky.

The sun was beginning to set. Tanner prepares another tent so they could have a place to sleep. He asked Amber to help him gather firewood. She agreed and began using her wind to cut down several trees at once, shocking Tanner at her power.

_'Man she really is powerful. If that's the case, her assailants must be either skilled or observant enough to take her down. Glad I made the right choice on not engaging them. Otherwise, I don't know if I could take them on, much less survive the battle.'_ He contemplated as he used 'Storage' to collect the wood that won't be used. Then he used 'Boost' to quickly carry the wood to the camp. As soon as he arrived, he began to chop them all down using his 'Summoned Axe'. After putting the rest of the wood to the campfire, he sets up both of the tents for them to sleep in. Tanner prepared to sleep in early due to his exhaustion finally catching up to him. But not before Amber interrupted him looking to ask a question.

"Isn't it a bit too early to sleep in?"

Tanner replied: "Well yeah your right. But I'm really tired right now so I'm gonna sleep early."

Amber glances at him finally noticing the bags under his eyes. He wasn't kidding when he said that, she could see his movements were a bit sluggish. Feeling worried about his current state of mind she asks:

"You had some trouble sleeping?"

_'You couldn't be further from the truth'_ He thought as he replies: "Yeah, I had to... keep an eye on those creatures."

"Creatures? Are you talking about the Grimm?"

Tanner's eyes shot open but started to close up again. "Is-is that what they're called? Sorry, today has been pretty crazy." Amber was very worried about his health now, she saw that he definitely needed to rest now.

_'Grimm huh? What a fitting name for them. Kinda close to what I was gonna name them.'_ He mused as he replied to Amber at the same time: "Oh right! Of course, they are called Grimm, How could I forget that? Guess I'm even more tuckered out than I originally thought. Well, I'm gonna sleep now. Goodnight Amber!" He quickly says as he goes to sleep as fast as possible. Not wanting to be bothered by questions from her.

Amber just sighed as she went to her tent to sleep as well. Her last thought before she finally let the dream world take her was...

_'I want to see where you came from Tanner. Maybe if I do they can help me control my powers .'_

* * *

_Time: 12:00 am_

Amber stirs in her sleep from some noise that was bothering her. As she awakens she notices that Tanner was talking in his sleep. Looking closer at him, She noticed that his whole body was shaking violently, not to mention he was sweating a lot.

"N-no, please. G-get up. I-I need you. You can't be gone, this isn't you! No, no, no wake-up... please."

_'Is he having a nightmare?'_ She thought as she decided to wake him from his slumber.

"Tanner wake up." His body is still shaking as he doesn't seem to wake up.

"Tanner get up. Come on Tanner it's okay just wake u-" She shakes his body as Tanner suddenly shot up and summoned his dagger close to her face. More specifically her eye.

"Wait wait it's me, Amber!" She yelled as Tanner widened his eyes. Realizing who he almost stabbed, he bows down while letting his dagger dissipate.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to. I didn't know. I…. I almost s-stabbed you."

Amber knew he was just reacting on instinct so she sought to ease his mind. "It's ok really, You didn't really want to hurt me. It was an accident plus. You were having a nightmare and I wanted to help you."

Tanner continues to look down, still regretful about what he almost did. He stayed like that for a second before lying back down, facing away from Amber. "It's ok, thank you."

Amber really did want to help Tanner so she asked him once again. "Are you gonna be alright?"

"I'll be fine... Just go to sleep please." He takes a deep breath before continuing. "We have to move first thing in the morning."

Amber looks at Tanner concerned. She wanted to help him but since he wasn't opening up to her she couldn't do much. She dropped the subject and went back to her tent. But not before saying one last thing.

"You know... If you need to talk to someone. I'm here."

Tanner hears her words but.. they don't help him ease his mind. This is something he has to overcome on his own. He wants to move on.

He needed to do this on his own.

Because if he doesn't, he'll never be able to protect anyone.

* * *

**Date originally posted: August 15, 2019**

**Date updated: April 12, 2020**

**A/N: yeah honestly, not much to add in this one, just modified some dialogue, added a new quote and maybe improved my grammar? Anyway, this is the last update chapter. The next one will be a new chapter so stay excited for that one. Anyway cya, later Chow.**


	5. Amber Autmnus part 1

**A/N: Yay! Im back, well sort of, or im not really sure anymore. LIfe has been throwing some curveballs left and right. Depression is really its toll on me to be honest. But if u are wondering about the story being cancelled, dont worry. Its not, in fact, the next chapter is already good to go, just needs to go through filtering by my beta readers and it will be released. :).**

**this depression really made my life difficult. i still write but not as often as i used to do. but dont worry, im slowly getting back there. i am currently writing the chapter after the next, and so far. it will be great. i hope. anyway, i hope u enjoy this chapter.**

**Beta readers: ****Chowe2617 & PsychoMonarch701**

* * *

Name: Amber Autmnus

Age: 17

Height: 5'8

Weight: Don't ask a girl for her weight.

Favorite Color: Brown and Green

Aura Color: yellow-orange

Semblance: Unknown

Title: The Fall Maiden

Description of the title:

The Fall Maiden is a title passed on for generations to those who acquire the powers of The Fall Maiden. To acquire said power, there are certain conditions set in place.

1: Kill the Maiden: Once the Maiden has been killed by another girl, The Maiden powers will automatically pass on to the murderer.

2: Passing it by blood: If The Maiden has children and she dies by either natural causes or gets killed by a man, The powers will pass on to their offspring if they have any. This rule does not reply if she is killed by another girl.

3: Chance: If The Maiden is killed by natural causes or killed by a man and does not have offspring, the powers will choose a random host to give said powers. This rule does not reply if she is killed by another girl.

Powers: She has full control over wind and lightning elements. Does not require aura or dust to use. Has unlimited mana to use.

Origins of the title: No one knows how this power came into existence. The most likely theory is the story of The four Maidens where an old wizard gives 4 girls magic based on the seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Others have theorized that the Gods gave these powers to balance all the seasons. No one truly knows how these powers came to be. But one thing is certain, They play a role in maintaining order to all the seasons.

* * *

_Location: Unknown Village_

_Time: 12:00 pm_

There was once a peaceful village outside the kingdom of Vale. Children played in the grass, adults casually conversed and worked while soldiers were patrolling the streets. Overall, the village itself was self-sustaining with its own well for crops as well as drinking. The local radio tower allowed for traders to communicate with the town, and caravans from the kingdoms come at least once a month.

The village was spacious enough to have its own blacksmith, school, hospital, and even some stores to buy many materials such as weapons, dust, and other things like them. It could house at least 200 people or more. The village was designed as somewhat of a mixture of medieval and modern style to it with square houses being made out of concrete while other houses were still using cobblestone and wood. It truly was a miracle that a village such as this still exists, despite the constant threat of bandits and the shadow-like creatures known as Grimm.

A girl about 16 years of age sat playing with some of the children. She had a light brown complexion, with shoulder-length, straight brown hair. She also wore a long, green cloak, over a white blouse and brown leather armor. Her light armor was accented with golden bracers and boots finishing her rather warm outfit.

The young woman's name is Amber Autmnus and her dream was to open a daycare center in the lovely little village she grew up in. She has always loved children. Partially because she always wanted a sibling, a brother to watch over and care for or a sister to help and give advice to. But, even then she was contented with what she had. When Amber was younger, she wanted to explore all the 4 kingdoms just to see what it was like outside her own village. She wanted to see the world outside of her small village life. But she eventually gave up on that dream, as she found that she wanted to help this loving village grow.

Back then, the village was much smaller than the present time. Their parents had just moved from Vale due to lack of lien, and decided to try starting a new life on the outskirts of the kingdom. They were welcomed with open arms, and settled in quickly. The village was young, it seemed to have just been built, and seeing that sight Amber and her parents decided to help the village however they could. Amber would bring water to assist the farmers and her parents would teach the children how to read and write. The soldiers of the village would also teach her parents how to fend off against Grimm. Although Grimm in the area were weak, they still posed a serious challenge. Even a single Grimm could take out at least 10 soldiers with no huntsman training. They also tried their best to make the villagers happy they didn't want to attract the Grimm with their negative emotions. Overall, the village was ok to live in. A bit risky, but an exceptional place to call home.

Eventually, the usual mundane days changed when a certain old man wearing glasses while carrying a cane decided to walk through the village. Seeing the potential the village had, he decided to not only donate some lien, but materials to their builders. The mysterious but charitable man had even given them training to heal and fight Grimm. He had also requested Atlas to give them a radio tower to communicate with so they can keep in touch with Vale. Apparently, the man was known as Ozpin, Headmaster of the prestigious Beacon Academy. The villagers, overfilled with joy, decided to raise a statue of him as a reminder that he helped the village get where it is today. She was really grateful that he arrived on that day. When more residents decided to live in the village, she would see more children play in the sun, right then and there she had decided to take care of them since she never really did much else in the village anyway. Amber made sure to play with the children almost all day, watching over them just in case they get hurt.

Amber finished spending a big part of her day playing with the children, and finally decided to go home and eat lunch with her parents. They lived in a small wooden house, spacious enough for them to fit perfectly in, but they didn't really have modern things such as blenders or television. Outside of the kingdoms, it was a blessing to have electricity like they did. Amber opened the door to find her father setting plates down for lunch. He looked up and called to her.

"Amber! Glad you came. Come help me set up lunch."

Amber nodded and helped her father set down the plates, spoons, and forks for lunch. Her mother came into the dining room, holding a still-hot pot of rice. Amber bring and places down a placemat on the table so she can lay the pot down. After setting the food down, they all sat down for the meal.

Her father, wanting to start up a conversation asks.

"So Amber, how were the children today. Energetic and troublesome as always?"

Amber looks at her father and replies. "Well, they are just being kids as usual. Playing tag, running through the grass. Not much different from yesterday. So yeah I guess you're right about that, though I wouldn't say troublesome."

Her father smiles. "Well, that's good. Did they misbehave at all?"

She replies. "No, dad. They did not. They were fine today, don't worry."

Her father nods in approval. "Good. I don't want their parents knocking down on our doors, telling us that you failed to take care of them again."

Amber looks to her father in disbelief. "That's because Blut decided to punch one of them. And I had to punish him."

Her father replies. "Well isn't that your job to make sure they don't get hurt hmmm?"

Amber sighs "Dad, he is a spoiled brat from Atlas. He was always hogging everything from them. The children having enough, decided to argue with him. He then just punched one and I had to do something."

Her father puts his hand on his head, rubbing it a bit. "I know I know. I heard the same stories from the other kid's parents when they came here as well. I just don't want visitors complaining about how their children were not being taken care of well that's all."

Her mother puts a hand on his father. "Honey, Amber has just started a few months ago. I'm sure she will be able to take care of them properly when she has more experience. Just give her time."

Her father looks to his wife, seeing his wife giving him a small smile. He smiles back and turns to Amber. "Are you sure opening a daycare center is what you really want? It's a really big responsibility and there are less risky jobs for you to do."

Amber nodded in agreement. Her father then sighs knowing that she was set on her future. "Well, if that's what you want then I won't stop you. Besides." He smiles with mischievous intent. "Maybe you can find a special someone, and perhaps have a child of your own."

Amber's face blushed a deep red, covering her entire face. Her father laughing while her mother just sighed. Amber stammered. "I-I am g-gonna c-clean the d-dishes now." She then collects the dishes in the kitchen and heads to the sink to clean them.

Meanwhile, her father continues to laugh due to Amber's embarrassment. He then sighs, speaking to her wife in a quiet voice, low enough not to be heard by Amber. "Hey, should we really encourage this dream of hers?"

His wife looks at him puzzled. "Did you not just say that you would support her dream no matter what?"

He replies with slight regret in his voice. "I know, I did say that huh. But the only reason why she even has that goal in the first place is because we couldn't give her a sibling."

She looks at her husband with a hesitant expression before speaking. "Do you want to tell her about my condition then? It was your idea in the first place to keep it a secret after all."

He shakes his head. "No of course not. I don't want her to worry about you too much," he said in a solemn voice. He found out about her 'special ' condition when she gave birth to Amber. She has an atrophic heart. After giving birth, she had to stay in the hospital for months just to recover. Afterward, the doctor told them to never give birth to another child as that might worsened her condition or worse, kill her in the process. Since then, Amber would always ask why doesn't she play tag or run around with her. She would reply with. "I just don't like running around much" as a cover-up for her condition. She and her husband would discuss over and over when they are gonna tell her but postponed it as they are not sure about how she will react to that news. Besides, they wanted Amber to live life at the fullest without anything holding her down so not telling her would be the best option for them.

Amber now finished with the dishes, goes to the door but not before saying.

"Hey Mom, Dad, I'll be going out to buy food for dinner."

Her father nodded while her mother said. "Ok sweetie, just be careful ok?"

Amber nodded before exiting the house not knowing that this will be her last day before destiny chooses her.

* * *

_Time: 7:00pm_

Amber is currently outside, looking into the night sky. Observing the beautiful stars that rarely show at the beautiful night sky. She has been thinking a lot lately. It was mostly about her father's words, he told her that he would support her dream. She knows she wants to open a daycare center, but at the same time, she isn't sure if this is the life what she really wants. While she initially gave up on her previous dream of exploring the 4 kingdoms due to the village's state, now that the village was self-sustaining. She really had no purpose of staying here any longer. The only reason she was staying here was because she had no idea what to do next. She was conflicted on whether or not she should stay or go.

_'Should I leave? I mean, there isn't really anything anchoring me down in the village besides losing the few friends I have made here in the village. I might miss the children that I played with as well, but. Is this what I really want? Or do I want something more?'_

She stood there battling herself while she continued to stare into the night's sky, stars twinkling overhead. She gave up and decided to go back into her house, but something suddenly interrupted her. She felt light-headed and almost lost her balance. Once she recovered, she was confused. _'What happened?I felt fine just a moment ago.'_ She thought as she continued to walk back home. That's when it hit. A searing pain came from within her, it felt like someone set fire to her heart. She fell to her knees, clutching her chest in one hand.

_'W-what is h-happening t-to me?'_ she thought fearfully as she cried in pain. In between the tears, her body began to spasm, before a lightning bolt struck Amber and everything went white.

* * *

_Location: Hospital_

_Time: 7:00 am_

Amber stirred awake slowly as she looked at her surroundings. She saw a very bright white room, looking around she noticed the monitor on her left beeping rhythmically . When she looked on the right, she notices an IV bag hanging on a metal pole, hooked into her arm. She slowly sat upon the mattress, waiting for a doctor or a nurse to come in the room.

A few mins later, a doctor entered the room, donning his white lab coat and stethoscope on his neck. He looked at the equipment and smiled as he saw Amber awake. He then asked her while she was still confused.

"How are you feeling Miss Amber?" he said in a gentle voice.

Amber replies back, wearily. "I'm doing ok so far doctor. Do you know what happened to me?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid not, we checked your body to see if you have sustained some sort of damage. We checked your results and so far no signs of damage on your body, in fact, you actually gained something from that "attack" of yours."

Amber raises an eyebrow, confused. "What? That doesn't really make sense, what could I have possibly gained from it then?"

The doctor said with a joyous expression. "Well Miss, it appears you have unlocked your aura!"

Amber's eyes widened at that statement. _'I have unlocked aura!? But how? All that happened to me was some sort of heart attack or something. What in the world could have caused this? The only way to unlock your Aura is for someone to do it for you or will it by undergoing intense training.'_ she sat and contemplated her current impossible situation. She didn't really research a lot about Aura so this may have happened to other people. Still, she didn't think it was possible so to her it makes no sense. She wasn't sure what to think about it. Should she be happy? Yes, but those who unlocked aura are naturally destined to fight powerful Grimm. So does that mean she has to devote her life battling those things too? Then again this could be a way to explore the outside world, the Kingdoms. That thought excited her. "What color is my aura? How strong is it?"

The doctor pulled out his papers, examining it for a while before turning back to Amber. "Well, the color of your aura is yellow. As for the strength of it." He looks at his papers again before turning back to her. "It's stronger than average."

Amber is flabbergasted and ecstatic by that piece of information. _'Stronger than average!? How could that be?'_ But before she could think any further. The door was being knocked on, slightly startled by it the doctor went to open it. and Amber's parents rushed in to see their daughter, they were met with the sight of her on the bed they both instantly hugged her.

"Oh, sweetie! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Amber, being squeezed tightly, tried to speak. "I am fine mom c-can you p-please let go? Y-you too d-dad."

Both her parents let go of Amber while they turned to the doctor. Her father spoke first. "Is my daughter alright doctor?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, she appears to be unharmed. I have checked all her organs to see if they have received damage. So far she is good health. And her shock has presumably worn off."

Both of them sighed in relief finally knowing that their daughter was alright. After a second of relief the doctor continues. "But Miss Amber appears to have unlocked aura from that " attack" of hers."

Both of them were in shock as they heard that bit of news. They turned to Amber again this time with suspicion. Amber was just as perplexed as they were. Her father quickly spoke first. "Amber, have you been secretly training?"

Amber frantically shook her head confirming her standing on this issue. "No of course not! You know how much I hate fighting."

Her mother turns her attention on the doctor. "What were the circumstances of my daughter unlocking her aura?"

The doctor speaks. "Well, Mrs. Autmnus that's what I have been looking into. But so far I have found nothing as to explain why this happened in the first place. I'm not even sure what type of internal attack occurred in the first place."

Her father then turns to the doctor. He added his thoughts on the matter with a slightly panicked expression. "So you mean to say that it just "magically" unlocked itself!?"

"That seems to be the case, sir. We need to do further research on this strange phenomenon. Until then, I'm afraid I have no explanation as to how could this have happened." the doctor said in a curious and slightly excited voice. It wasn't often that the life of a doctor in a village got exciting.

Both of their parent's sigh before facing their only daughter named Amber. "Well, at least she isn't hurt right doc?" her mother asked.

"Yes, she isn't hurt. But she still needs to rest here at least until tomorrow just to see if there are any possible side effects.

Both of them nodded then turned to Amber. Her father speaking first. "Will you be ok? Do you want us to bring you anything?"

Amber shook her head. "No dad, I think I'll be fine on my own here. Thanks anyways."

Her father nodded, both of her parents were leaving, but not before telling the doctor to contact them if anything else happens. Nodding to them, the doctor turned to Amber. "You have some very kind and caring parents, Miss Amber."

Amber smiled at this comment, she knew of her luck with the parents she was blessed with. "Yeah I'm pretty lucky to have them." the doctor nodded before leaving the room so she could rest. The doctor traveled to a room where there are monitors checking their aura and such. The doctors there were observing some of them. Finally noticing his entry one of them came up to them.

"Dr. Vanille we have found something that might interest you."

Dr. Vanille walks up to his fellow doctor and asks. "What is it, Dr. Ivoire?"

Dr. Ivoire then looks to the other doctors and yelled angrily, "Show him the results!"

The doctors startled by the voice quickly scrambled around before getting the papers, giving it to Dr. Vanille.

Dr. Vanille looks at the result curiously before his face turned to one of shock. He looks to Dr. Ivoire with a sense of urgency and quickly asks. "Are you sure these are the right results?"

Dr. Iviore nodded. "Positive Dr. We've checked, double-checked and triple checked. The results have been the same. I too found this hard to believe, but these results do not lie."

Dr. Vanille looks back at the results with a baffled expression. _'What am I gonna about this information? Should I tell them? Maybe I need more research before I tell them anything. Otherwise, it would sound stupid.'_ He thought to himself as he continues to look at the paper in question before Dr. Iviore captured his attention. "Should we tell General Ironwood?"

"What!? No, of course not! I will not have my patient be a test subject for war nor will they be an experiment for Atlas!" Dr. Vanille shouted , his voice clearly filled with anger.

Dr. Iviore took a step back due to the outburst Dr. Vanille gave. _'I've never seen him this upset.'_ He thought as he chose his next words carefully. "So what will we do about this information then Doctor?"

Dr. Vanille thought, taking a moment to calm himself before speaking. "For now, keep this information disclosed. No one needs to know. Not even Amber herself."

"Are you sure about that? The patients always have the right to ask about their health." Dr. Iviore said.

Dr. Vanille shook his head. "While that is true, do you want her to panic when she finds out that she has 2 auras somehow!?"

"N-no I don't think she can handle that type of news. Having Aura is presumably already stressing for her so I guess for her safety we'll keep this a secret." Dr. Iviore said.

"Good. For now, we need to do more research on our own. We won't call for Atlas. God knows what would happen if they found out about this." Dr. Vanille said with a solemn voice. He looks back at the paper before giving it back to Dr. Iviore. "Place those documents in my office. I will do my own research."

Dr. Iviore nodded, taking the documents and leaving the room. Dr. Vanille let out a sigh. He wasn't quite sure what to do next. He thought for a moment before turning back to the other doctors. "Show me the results on the monitor."

The other doctors nodded, putting up a display of Amber's results in the monitor. He saw a silhouette of Amber, her aura glowing yellow while occasionally changing to a soft orange glow. He also notices that blue streaks of light would show up on her aura, constantly flickering in and out. As if to tell him that it's still not controlled properly. He then sighed and tells them to shut it off before leaving the room entirely. He goes back to Amber's room with a stoic face.

Amber's face lit up as she waited for the news from her doctor. "So, am I ok to leave now?"

The doctor nodded, flashing a fake smile. "There is nothing wrong with you. We just need you to stay until tomorrow to check on you just in case. That is all."

Amber nodded happily. "Thank you, doctor. At least I'm ok. Nothing wrong with me."

The doctor sighed "Yeah you're fine for now." He muttered.

* * *

_Tomorrow_

_Time:12:00 pm_

Amber has been discharged from the hospital to go back home. So far, Dr. Vanille was currently researching on Amber's twin soul. He doesn't seem to have any luck on explaining how it was possible to have two auras. He tried to obtain every book about aura as well as to turn to some of the experts about aura. But in the end they can't seem to explain this strange phenomenon either. So after all that he decided to continue monitoring Amber from a distance. He truly hated the idea of spying on others. But he really needed to know how she could have 2 separate auras. So he hired and bribed some people to watch Amber for anything strange. He was currently in his office with a mountain of books containing info on aura and even semblances. Then randomly Dr. Iviore comes inside the room, noticing the massive mess, he voices his concern. "Doctor You have been researching about Amber for a while now. Why not take a break?"

Dr. Vanille sluggishly shook his head. "I need to know what's causing this. I don't want her to be taken by Atlas, just so they could satisfy their dangerous unending curiosity. I have been there. It isn't a pleasant place to be on either side."

Dr. Iviore now curious about his time in Atlas asks. "What did you see there exactly?"

Dr. Vanille shivered at the question but tries his best to answer. "People, animals even faunus being treated like nothing more than lab rats. They would try different things on them. Like forcing their auras to be active through their machines and even forcing semblances to be active without aura. It was horrifying."

Dr. Iviore was shocked to say the least. _'I understand if it was just Faunus and animals. They don't really care about them. But people too. I think Atlas has either gone mad, or they are preparing for another war.'_ He thought as he looks back at Dr. Vanille, seeing his horrified expression tells him more than his mind could comprehend. He decided to just drop the subject entirely and asks. "Do you want me to bring you food?"

Dr. Vanille snapped out of his trance before replying. "Yeah, sounds good. Bring me my usual."

Dr. Iviore nodded before leaving the office to get food for him and Dr. Vanille.

Dr. Vanille went back to work, still shaken but determined nonetheless. He doesn't want to see one of his villagers be taken away and treated like that. He became a doctor to help people, not use them as guinea pigs and make them suffer.

* * *

_Location: Amber's bedroom_

_Time: 2:00pm _

Amber laid in her bed, unable to rest. Her parents refused to let her do any work, insisting that they could handle it for the day. She didn't like it, letting them do all her chores, but they were very persistent so she decided it easier not to argue.

_Flashback_

_Time: 1:00pm_

After eating her lunch, Amber got up from the table and went to grab the dishes. As she reached for the first plate, she felt a hand over hers. Her mother smiled at her, but there was sadness in her eyes.

"Honey, please let me do the dishes this time." She said in a strange pleading voice, to Amber this was out of character for her.

Amber, still insistent on doing the dishes herself, said to her mother in a slightly annoyed voice. "Mom, I'm OK, I don't need to babied anymore."

"Don't be so sure Amber." Her father said in a serious voice before his face turned to one of concern. "Although the doctor said you may be fine and you don't have any injury, it would be best if we take care of the chores for a while."

Amber stomped her feet, Annoyed at the fact that no one was listening to her. "Mom, Dad, really I'm fine. There is really nothing wrong with me, look!" She gestured her arms to her body, signifying that she is physically fine.

But her parents, still not believing Amber said in unison, their voice angry and strict. "No, you're not. You've just come back from the hospital, you need to rest so Just go to bed." The weight of their words showed now room for argument.

Amber, startled by her parents voice, quickly went to her room, having only one thought on her mind.

_'Wow I've never seen them this upset before. Best not to argue with them.'_

_Flashback ends_

She sighed at her ceiling, as the memory flashed through her mind. She decided to open her door to see if her parents were around. Seeing that no one's within her immediate vicinity, she decides to leave her room and look around. heading through the living room, dining room and even her parent's room, but it seemed like the house was completely empty. When she came back to the dining room, she noticed a piece of paper on the table, curiously, Amber went to the table and opened the note.

Amber,

If you read this note that means we are not back yet. We have left the house to go to Vale and do some shopping. Do not leave the house and don't do anything here. Just relax ok?

Love, Your Parents.

P.S There is some food in the fridge, you can just heat those up if we are not back by dinner.

_'So they left for Vale huh? Well I'll still do the chores whether they like it or not' _Filled with determination, she decided to start doing the chores. But she notices that all the dishes were cleaned, laundry is done, the floor has been swept and mopped, and everything has been arranged. It was as if they were expecting her to try and do the chores. They did it all themselves, which was unusual for them to do so. Normally, they would only do the chores if it was a necessity.

_'Damn, they did everything I was supposed to do. What else is there?'_ Her mind wandered as she looks around the house to see if there is something to do here. Anything at all. But everything was just cleaned and arranged. She sighed in annoyance as she sat down in defeat, looking at the floor for a few minutes. Feeling the restlessness of doing nothing, she got up from the couch and left the house.

As she got outside, she could feel the sun hitting her skin, feeling the warmth of the afternoon as she looks at the children outside, playing with their toys and using their gadgets to entertain themselves. She smiled at the scene before her. Having nothing better to do, she decided to walk around town to see if she can do something to distract herself. After a while of walking with nothing coming to mind, she sat down on a nearby bench. As she watched the children play, she pondered how to pass the time.. Then she remembered something.

Her aura.

It didn't really hit her until just now, but she has an aura now. A weapon to be used against Grimm and a shield to protect people. She's the only person here who had it, not even the soldiers of this village have aura. They relied on their powerful weapons lent by Atlas and had nothing more than basic training. While that is true, considering Grimm in the area were weak and not a lot of bandits came to the village. She couldn't help but worry nonetheless. She knew huntsman and huntresses would come if they requested it. But what if they were too late? What if the village was overrun by Grimm or worst a bandit raid. The village would definitely fall by the time help arrived. She took some time to look at herself, wondering if she should just start training.

While she hated fighting in general, she thought about it more and more. If she had the power to protect this village, then she should try to at least harness it properly. But the problem was, no one knows how to fight against a person with aura. She would either need to go Signal Academy, which was quite far, or she would train on her own, hoping to adapt quickly to her newfound aura. She debated for a while in her mind, not noticing two people watching her from a distance, waiting to see if she will make a move. After much consideration in her mind she decided to train on her own, somewhere where she wouldn't be seen by anyone. She decides to go to the gate, where she sees 2 guards, holding Atlas rifles in their hands. When Amber approached the gate, one of the guards held his hand in front of her, signaling to stop, as he asked.

"Hello Miss, where will you be going?"

Amber flashed the guard a smile and replies. "Oh! I just wanna explore the forest sir."

The guards gave her a strange look before replying. "Ma'am are you sure that is a good idea? The village may have less and weak Grimm in the area, but you may still be in danger if you encounter one."

Amber replied back. "Don't worry sir, I promised to be careful outside."

The guard narrowed his eyes at her, inspecting her for a while. Amber, not feeling comfortable being stared at, decides to play a little game with them, giving the guards a sly smile and changing her body language into a seductive one, she says in an enticing voice. "Enjoying the show sir?"

Both of the guards blush profusely, not expecting that type of play, quickly compose themselves before saying. "N-no Ma'am, just making sure you are ready to venture outside is all."

Amber, still playing with them, continues. "Really sir? Or do you just like what you see?"

The guards, still blushing, sighs in defeat. "A-alright Ma'am you can take your leave. Just be careful ok?"

Amber, returning into a more cheerful expression, said to the guards. "Thank you so much sir! I promise I'll be careful." Giving the guards a cheeky salute, before passing through the gates and leaving into the forest. The guards, facepalmed themselves, knowing that they have essentially killed someone, says to his partner.

"We are not good guards, are we?"

His partner nods in agreement as well. The 2 strangers that followed Amber, approached the guards, with one of them speaking.

"Sir, where is she going?"

The guards turned to the citizens in front of them, then spoke.

"Sir, the girl said she would be exploring in the forest."

The strangers looked at each other for a while, before nodding and replied. "Well sir, is it ok if we can follow her, just in case she is in danger?"

The guards shook their head. "While that would be a good idea, unfortunately we cannot let you pass as you might put yourselves in danger as well. We don't want another casualty on our heads."

The strangers, disbelief written all over their faces, spoke to them in an angered voice. "So you just let her leave the village!? Even though she can't defend herself, you let her pass while the two of us can't leave. You realize that she is out there alone, and unarmed. "

The guards flinched at their outburst, knowing full well they're right. But they can't keep letting citizens leave the village whenever they feel like it, they straightened themselves and said to them. "I'm sorry sir but I'm afraid the answer is still no."

The strangers were pissed off. But since they couldn't do anything about it, they decided to just leave the gates. The guards sighed in relief as at least they managed to prevent another one from leaving. His partner, finally saying something he says. "We may be good guards against boys. But against girls? We fail there."

He just slumps to the ground in defeat, realizing his point, he just yells.

"Why can't I just get a girlfriend already?!"

* * *

_Location: Unknown Forest._

Amber wandered around the forest for a bit, admiring the beautiful scenery around her. She could see rabbits hopping around, deer drinking from the river bed, flowers blooming and basking in the sunlight while some of the trees swayed in the breeze. While she left the village with her parents to have a picnic every now and then, Amber didn't pay too much attention to their beautiful surroundings. So with an opportunity like this, she just couldn't help but admire the scene on her own. She liked the quiet and peaceful atmosphere here. While she does enjoy the village, booming with life, she couldn't help but admire and appreciate the lush green forest alone. Being able to explore the forest would have a soothing effect on her.. But she steels herself, knowing why she is here in the first place. sat down in the grass Amber tried to bring her aura out physically.

She found a patch of grass in the forest, and decided to sit and close her eyes, trying to see if she could bring her aura out. She tried to remember the feeling when she was struck by lightning. She attempted to grasp the power she had within her soul. She tried for several minutes before she opened her eyes and lied down on the grass defeated. Her expression turned to frustration and shouted to the sky.

"What do I have to do to get this stupid aura to work?!"

"Sorry to rain on your parade but aura doesn't work that way."

Amber shot up and looked to see where the voice came from, her eyes immediately landed on a figure standing by a nearby tree. Amber was taken aback by her form. The figure was glowing with an eerie orange light. She decided to take a closer look at the strange phenomena in front of her. Her face turned to one of shock when she saw that the figure looked exactly like her. The figure walks up to Amber, giving her a warm smile.

"Hello there Amber, It's nice to finally meet you." The figures said with a gentle tone in her voice .

"W-who a-are y-you?" She wasn't sure what caused the stammering, it was either shock or fear. Probably both if she was honest.

The figure, noticing the fear in her face, quickly took a more passive stance. "Oh, don't be afraid of me. After all I am well... you!" The strange woman at least took a sheepish look as she said it, looking awkward at the given revelation.

If Amber could find a word to express her feelings right now, it's probably 'dumbfounded'. She wasn't sure how to respond back to, well… herself. Her breath caught in her throat as she began to panic. After a few moments, she fainted from the stress of trying to comprehend the glowing ghost clone thing . The glowing Amber stared back at the real Amber, not sure on how to help her. After a moment, she decided to sit down and bring Amber's head into her lap.

_'Oh boy, I hope you're ready on what's to come. Because this will be quite a journey.'_ It thought to itself while smiling, knowing full well that her vessel was a worthy person.

_'Although weak and easy to scare, she has a good heart. With a bit of a push, she would be a great Fall Maiden.'_ It thought as it took in their surroundings with a smile.

* * *

_A few hours later_

Amber stirred awake, slowly getting up, she saw that it was getting late. She proceeded to look around and see if she was being followed. But as checked her surroundings she remembered the strange orange glowing Amber and yells.

"Hey Orange Me, where are you?" She shouted, nervous to get a reply. It may have been her seeing things, but it could also be related to her Aura being released in an unusual way.

After a minute of total silence, there was no response. She sighed in disappointment thinking it really was just a hallucination. She chose to go back to the village, determination filled her up as she thought about how to bring her aura again. She would definitely not give up yet. She wants to harness this power and use it for the greater good. But first, she needed information.

After returning back to the village. The two guards she flirted with, notices her and wave their arms frantically.

"Hey, hurry up or the Grimm will eat you." He says in a teasing voice.

Amber just ran to the gate, not even acknowledging the guards, she ran past them and entered the village. She ran to her house to see if her parents are home. When she opens the door, she finds no one at home. She let out a sigh of relief as she left again for the library. Once she found the library, she immediately searched for books on aura. As she browsed her options, she noticed that some of the books were missing. So she goes to the receptionist and asks

"Hey Miss, some of the books in the aisle about aura were missing."

The receptionist looks to Amber and responds back. "Oh, well Dr. Vanille came in early today and asked for those books. He said he would return them by morning."

Amber frowned at this news. She really wanted to learn more about aura, considering that she never knew how to use it in the first place. Also the fact that she wanted to know if it's normal to have a ghost follow you around before leaving entirely. It probably wasn't but then again she had heard in passing about people getting powers or abilities when they had their Aura. She smiled back at the receptionist, gave her a "Thank you" before leaving the library. Defeated, she went back to her house, but stopped as she saw someone at her front door. Her face turned pale as she saw her parents with disappointment in their eyes. Her father spoke to her first.

"Amber, where were you? You were not here in the house when we arrived. Didn't we give you instructions not to leave the house when we are gone?"

Amber, clearly annoyed by this talks back to him. "Dad, I'm 16 already not ten. I'm old enough to take care of myself already."

Her mother intervenes. "I know dear, but you are still in recovery. We just want to make sure you will be alright."

"Mom, I know, but I'm alright. I'm not hurt or anything see. "She gestured to her body once again, feeling de'javu as she said exactly the same thing as this morning.

Her father, still disappointed at Amber just says. "I know you're alright. But we really want to make sure you are at 100%." He sighed before continuing. "So from here on out, you are grounded until the end of the week."

Amber was in shock as she hears those words from his father. _'Grounded?'_ This was the first time that she was grounded for so long. The last time she was grounded was when she was 10 where she was misbehaving because she wanted to play in the middle of the night. It was foolish but she wanted to stay up late at night because she couldn't sleep. At the time, her father wasn't in the mood and his temper was short when Amber disobeyed him. He snapped and grounded her for the entire month. Her mother managed to calm him down and reduced it to just a few days.

Ever since then, she was always obedient, making sure that she never got punished again. But now? Now she was much older and yet he was still treating her like a child? It pissed her off in the inside. She wanted to yell at him, to tell him that she wasn't a child and she doesn't want to be treated like one anymore. But she couldn't do that to him. She loved him so much, and besides, they have a point. She wasn't sure if she is really alright. She did just see a hallucination of herself after all.

Maybe she wasn't alright. Her expression turns to sorrow as she just nodded and went straight to her room without argument. Her parents looked at Amber in astonishment as they expected her to argue or fight back, but none of that happened. So they looked at each, her mother speaking first.

"I think we were being too hard on her. Maybe we shouldn't grounded her. She is already 16 after all. "

Her father looks at his wife with a baffled expression tells her. "That may be so, but we are not sure if she really is ok. I just want her to fully recover. Besides, she is the only daughter we have left."

She just looks back to Amber's bedroom doors closed, she looks back at him and continues. "I know, I also want her to recover, but I don't want to restrict her either. Just, don't ground her for the entire week, that was too much even for you."

He was about to open his mouth in protest, but closed it back as he saw her point. _'I guess I went overboard there. Hm, yeah I definitely screwed up there.'_ He decided to go inside Amber's room to apologize. He got to the door but hesitated at the coming confrontation, and chose to head back downstairs. He told his wife that he would just tell her tomorrow. She seemed to be satisfied with the answer as they just went to bed as well, thinking they would just deal with it the next day.

* * *

_Time: 1:00 am _

Amber woke up in the middle of the night, her stomach rumbling as she realized she forgot to eat dinner. She lazily got up from her bed and went straight to the fridge. Spotting the food her parents left for her, she grabbed the food and heated it up in a pan. She was about to eat when suddenly an orange glow blinded her before fading away, revealing the orange figure she saw earlier. She was so shocked that she fell off the chair.

"Ouch." She groaned as she put the chair upright again. She looked back at the figure, seeing it smiling she asked.

"Who are you?" Amber asked, curious more than frightened at this point.

The figures perks up. "Oh! Well, it's kinda hard to explain but in simple terms, I am you in a sense."

Amber was definitely confused by that statement. "What do you mean you are me? Are you a part of my soul?"

"Yes, well not really, it's kinda complicated to explain." It scratches it's back awkwardly. "You can say I am an extension of your soul."

Amber, not satisfied by that answer, continues to ask. "So you just pop into existence when my aura unlocked?"

"Nope! I actually unlocked your aura when I fused with your soul."

Amber, tries to contemplate on what it said. _'Fused with my soul? So where did you come from then?'_ She thought as she continues to look at the figure, the figure just smiling as its waiting for a response from her. Deciding that she doesn't want it to wait any longer, she asks. "So where did you come from exactly?"

The figure looks down at the floor, its hair covering the eyes, as its voice got quieter than before. "I... don't remember actually. I usually lose my memories once I transfer to a new host."

"So you're like some sort of spirit?" She asks.

The figure shook its head. "No, It's more than that actually. But it doesn't matter as I usually disappear after a year of bonding with the host. I only resurface when I have new host."

_'Good to know that it will disappear. Although I'm really is curious on what is it exactly. If it's not a spirit or ghost, than what is it exactly?' _She mused as she slowly starts eating her food. She wanted to talk to the figure as much as possible, considering it might disappear again on its own.

What she didn't expect was to answer her unasked question. "Don't worry about me going away. I can wait when you're done eating." It smiled genuinely.

Amber smiled as she scarfed down the food as fast as possible, before accidentally choking on some food and grabs a glass of water and drinking it. The figure chuckled as Amber just rolled her eyes and finished her food. After she ate, she placed her dishes in the sink and went back to the table. Thefigure, still in the chair, simply smiled back at her. Amber finally decided to ask.

"So what are you really? I'm sorry for asking this question again, but you really haven't made it clear. Are you a ghost? A spirit? What are you?"

The figures just sighs as it looked to Amber with a grave expression. She wasn't expecting such a drastic response to the question. Then the figure begins to speak in a more serious tone.

"Look, I will tell you what really I am, But you must promise me one thing. Promise me that you will not tell anyone what I am about to say."

"Why?" Amber asks curiously.

"Because, the information on what I'm about to tell you can put you and everyone you love in danger." The figure said.

Amber wasn't comfortable about this. She never liked keeping secrets. Especially from her parents. Keeping secrets from them felt like stabbing them in the back. Her heart sank at the very thought of it. The figure, noticing Amber's turmoil, grabs her attention.

"Look, I know you don't like this. But, if this secret gets out, you and those close to you will be in serious danger. Trust me, I have died because of betrayal at least a few times. I think." The figure said, uncertainty in its voice.

Amber, now finally understanding, slowly nodded. If this secret really put everyone in danger, then she would keep it. She just hoped that her parents will forgive her if they found out.

The figure gave Amber comforting smile. "Don't worry, this is for the best. I promise."

_'Sure it is.'_ Amber thought in doubt. She just hoped that this secret was worth keeping.

"Well here goes nothing." The figure says before breathing in and out. "Ok, so I'll ask you a question. What is your favorite fairytale?"

Amber, not getting it right away decided to ask. "What do you mean favorite fairytale?"

"Just answer the question please." It said bluntly.

_'Favorite fairytale huh?'_ Amber thought long and hard about. Her parents told her a lot of fairy tales in her childhood. She had liked a lot of them. Such as the 2 brothers, the girl in the tower, the story of the relics and the red queen. But there was one the she truly liked.

"The story of the maidens." Amber said with certainty in her voice.

The figure nodded. "What if I would tell you that story of the maidens was true and certain fairytales have some truth to it."

Amber's eyes widened at that notion. If that's true, then it would mean that there are actual maidens, girls with seasonal magic, roaming around Remnant. But why? Why it ask about that story. Unless...

"Wait, are you saying that you used to be a maiden?" Amber said.

The figure looked surprised at that question. Did she perhaps hit the mark perfectly? The figure smiled. "Well, you're not wrong. But you're not right either."

Amber seemed confused by that statement. The figure continued on. "I'm not the maiden sadly, but I'm a part of it. You see there is more to the maidens than you realized. Are you ready to listen?"

Amber nodded eagerly. She really wants to know more now that she is hooked to this story that its about to tell. The figure smiled once more before turning into a more serious expression.

"Long ago, There were 2 brothers, The Gods of Light, and Darkness. The 2 brothers would constantly fight over control. The God of Light would create life such as plants and animals. While the God of Darkness would destroy everything, with natural disasters. They would keep on fighting until the God of Darkness created something that embodied its ideals. Can you guess what it is?"

Amber thought for moment. _'What did it create? I mean, He liked destroying life so what would it create that would help his cause. The only thing it could possibly make is...'_

"The Grimm."

"Exactly." It seemed pleased. "Yes, he created the Grimm through the pools of darkness that he made. After this action however. The God of Light had enough of it. He came after him and they both fought with everything they had. I can't tell you how it went, though. But I know the battle was so devastating, the moon was shattered."

Amber was shocked to say the least. The fact that these Gods have such power terrified her. She definitely didn't want to anger these Gods or who knows what might happen. Remnant could be destroyed and there was nothing she could do about it.

"The fight ended in a draw, where they both agreed to create one last thing as a truce. They created something that embodied both the God's ideals. Humanity. After that, they both settled down, watching as humanity grew. However one thing that the God of Light noticed is that the humans were... disappointing. The God of Light wasn't pleased on how life was progressing. So he decided to ask his brother if they can both help humanity grow. His brother agreed. He told him to create power tools to help the new humans. He gave magic and two powerful tools. The Relic of Destruction and The Relic of Choice. While the God of Light gave them aura and two other powerful tools. The Relic of Creation and The Relic of Knowledge."

"My knowledge is quite limited on what happens next. But I can tell you that after the creation of these tools, something bad happened. I don't know what, but it was so terrible that both of the Gods fled. But before they fled, they agreed to seal all the relics they had created. By creating vaults that can only be opened by the 4 maidens in the story. Summer for Destruction, Winter for Creation, Fall for Choice and Spring for knowledge. Once they left, magic was stripped from humanity, but not their aura. I guess the God of Light took some pity on humanity and let them keep it. Though if I remember correctly, they never had to use aura due to magic just being more powerful than aura. But anyway that's how the maidens were created. We are essentially keys to not only bringing balance to the season, but also we are the keys to unlocking the vault that guards the relics."

"And that's how the maidens were created."

* * *

**A/N: did not expect that did ya? yup, im changing the canon of how the maidens came to be, tbh, it never really made any sense to me in the first place. it would have been fine if the relics didnt exist. add the fact that apparently thr maidens are tied to the relics. how exactly? even the vol6 ch3 did not explain how the maidens were connected to the relics or how the vaults were made in the first place. so i decided to integrate the relics with the maidens as well to make it feel more natural. anyway was it good? bad? questionable? terrible? piece of sh!t? let me know. honesty is the best policy. besides being honest will allow me to improve more and kick my depression out of the garbage can for good. hopefully.**

**Anyway Chow.**


	6. Amber Autmnus part 2

**A/N: I have a stupid challenge! I will try and upload a chapter every week. The same week the RWBY Volume 7 comes up! That way, i can get my lazy butt off and do something! Whether or not i can pull this off is another story but im willing to try anyway!**

**So yeah this chapter, told ya it wont take another 2 months. Still took long though to update. Curse my depression for that. But its getting easier for me but still hard.**

**Anyway i still have to thank you my friends for enjoying my shitty story. It means a lot to me. Even when im at my lowest, you guys still read whatever i put out so ty.**

**Without further ado, let the next part begin!**

* * *

Amber was baffled by the story told by her "spirit". _'Seriously!? Magic? Gods? Relics? Has this spirit taken her for a fool? Surely not. This spirit might be playing a prank on her. Hell, this might be even a dream for all she knows. This spirit can't expect her to believe all of that right? _

_But... _

_I suppose I can't even explain what I am talking to exactly, so maybe there is some merit to this story. Besides, with everything that is going on with me right now, I guess there are no other possible explanations for now.'_ She thought as she looked at the spirit in bewilderment. The spirit snapped its fingers to catch her attention.

"So, what do you think? You still there?" It asks, curiously thinking the story might have broken her mind.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. I mean, I guess I could call it crazy but, since you are here, and I have nothing else to go off of… I suppose it would be mind blowing." Amber plainly said.

The spirit was taken aback by her lack of reaction. It expected to make her freak out or make her faint like in the forest, but it seems it was wrong. "Wow, I mean, I thought you would have panicked. Or flipped out. Or called me a liar. Or something."

Amber shrugged. "I mean, I could but it won't do me any good." Amber pointing to her parents room. "Besides I don't want to wake my parents up anyway. They might think I'm going crazy, talking to a spirit about Gods and magic. They'd probably take me back to the hospital and I don't want that."

The spirit nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. So do you have any questions about the story or the maidens in general. I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability."

_'To the best of you ability huh? So you do have some sort of limit.'_ She debated in her mind on what questions to answer. Because while its story was informative, it still leave a lot of vague details. But since she does not have the time to keep asking questions, she decides to ask some of the more important questions. She'll ask the other questions later.

"Ok I have a few questions. First- which maiden am I?"

"Well, you're the Fall Maiden, meaning you are the key to unlocking the vault that guards the Relic of Choice."

Amber nodded, satisfied with the answer, she decides to ask another one. "What are the powers of the Fall Maiden?"

"Well, your powers are full control of lightning and wind elements. But just because you can use them, doesn't mean that you can utilize its full power yet. You need to train it first."

Amber was slightly disappointed at that answered. But regardless, she got an answer so nothing to complain about there, so she asks another question. "Do you know where the Relic of Choice is?"

The spirit shook its head. "I'm afraid not. The only one who would know the answer to that question would be Jinn, who is the Relic of Knowledge."

Amber took note of this "Jinn" character in her mind and asked. "How does the maiden power choose its host? I don't think it's random. Does it have like some sort of worthiness feature it detects or something?"

The spirit shook its head. "No nothing like that, although you're wrong about it not being random. There are certain conditions on how the powers are transferred."

"Explain." Amber asked, interest in her voice.

"Very well, first condition is that the maiden has to be killed. But not anyone can kill a maiden and get her powers. It has to be a young woman that kills a maiden to obtain the powers."

Amber's face turned pale as she hears those words. _'So if anyone finds out I am a maiden, then they would try to kill me to obtain this power.'_ She grimly thought as she slowly nodded to her spirit, signaling it to continue.

"Ok so the next condition is that the maiden powers can be transferred to the maiden's offspring." Amber slightly blushed at this statement, but the spirit ignored it and continued. "If the maiden were killed by either natural causes or killed by a man, the powers will automatically transfer to the Maiden's baby, going to the eldest if they have multiple children. However the first condition bypass this one. Meaning, a girl or a woman can still kill the maiden and obtain its powers, even though the maiden had children."

Amber felt upset, maybe even a bit angry knowing that even having children won't guarantee that your powers will transfer to her children. The spirit continues.

"The final condition is it will choose random. Basically it's the same as the second choice, but if the maiden does not have children, then its power will transfer to a random host."

Amber now understood why she obtain this power. The previous maiden didn't have children and died by someone who was not a girl, thus its power transferring to her. She soon turned anxious, knowing that she could no longer live a normal life. She just wished it was someone else and not her or her mother. But, there was nothing she can do now. She had to embrace this power whether she liked it or not. Besides, maybe having this power would allow her to explore Remnant just like she always dreamt. She sees the spirit, waiting to be asked another question.

She was about to ask when a yawn escaped her lips.

_'Huh. I guess I was more tired than I realized.'_ She thought as she spoke. "Well, I'm gonna hit the hay now. Can we talk tomorrow spirit?"

The spirit nodded. "Of course , I'm not going anywhere yet. You should take a break, you'll need it for what's to come."

_'What's to come huh? Then I guess I gotta rest up then' _She mused as she waved the spirit good night before it waved back, disappearing into dust. She goes to her bed, exhaustion taking over rapidly, she just lays flat on her bed and fall asleep, hoping tomorrow would not get as complicated as today.

* * *

_Tomorrow_

_2:00 pm_

_'Well, this was... unexpected.'_ Amber thought as she sees her spirit, playing with the children with her even though they can't see it. It was weird for Amber, she did not expect the spirit to be so... playful. At times, the spirit was always serious when it comes to talking to her about its past, which she still couldn't get enough information due to her "amnesia" as the spirit says. But when Amber went out to babysit the children today, the spirit's face lit up, it was a sudden change of expression. She really was caught-off guard with it. So much so that the children were asking if she was alright. She waved them off saying. "I'm just a bit tired is all." As an excuse to keep them from asking. She never saw the spirit as a child, she thought that since it was so old due to her nature, it would act mature and just stand back, occasionally smiling. Turns out she was wrong and the spirit was just as playful as a child could get. Almost as if that the spirit is a six year old.

_'This is weird, I'm the only one capable of seeing my own spirit. This feels... distracting.' _As she continues to think in deep thought. The spirit notices Amber, just sitting on the bench thinking. The spirit, wanting Amber to enjoy herself, it walks over to Amber.

"You're not going to play with the children, I thought you were supposed to be a babysitter?" It asks.

Amber wanted to reply back. But she couldn't do that or else someone might think that she was talking to an imaginary friend. So Amber just kept quiet, ignoring the spirits question entirely.

"You know, you could just talk to me telepathically. I can read your thoughts as long as they are meant for me to hear." The spirit replied, knowing full well what she is thinking.

Amber was taken aback, but nodded along and tested it. She focuses on her thoughts into trying to relay a message to the spirit. 'C-can you hear me?' She thought, hoping the spirit heard her.

The spirit nodded, gesturing for her to continue. _'So why do you act like a child anyway? I thought you were supposed to be some ancient and wise maiden.'_

"While you are correct, the fact is I just like playing with children. I don't spend a lot of time outside. Besides, the hosts that I inhabit don't have a lot of children in their lives."

_'Wait. I thought you can't remember your past hosts.'_

"I can't, but I do remember parts of my memory. It's mostly me just enjoying my time outside while my host just sleeps or doing something else. If I try to remember what they look like, it usually is either blocked or my head hurts for trying too hard."

Amber was disturbed by that information. _'Why would the Gods force the spirits to forget about their host? Is it because of sworn secrecy? Or something else?'_ Amber felt sorry for the spirit, knowing that it would always forget the experiences it had. It didn't deserve that type of treatment. Whoever these Gods were, she would give them a piece of her mind when she dies. She just hopes she didn't die now, that would just be ironic.

"Auntie Amber." Amber look down to the child, speaking to her. "Aren't you gonna play with us?"

Amber did not notice the children she was watching, were surrounding her with sad expressions. Amber stood up from her bench, her eyes locked onto the spirit. The spirit waving back at her.

Amber then sighs then kneels down to the child. "Of course I will play with you." She said with a gentle smile before being dragged away excitedly by the children. The spirit chuckled, earning a glare from Amber before walking beside her.

_'I do wish I could remember who my previous host was. Not knowing makes me feel empty inside.'_ It grimaced as it watched Amber fly a kite with the children, before disappearing into dust once again.

* * *

_Time: 4:00 pm_

Amber took all the children home, their parents thanking Amber before she left. She called out to the spirit through her thoughts.

"What is it Amber?" The spirit asked, materializing in front of Amber.

_'I need you to train me.'_ Amber thought to the spirit.

"Why so eager? You can just relax for a bit you know?"

_'I know, but when I played with these children. My mind told me they needed to be protected. Don't get me wrong, the guards here do a wonderful job at keeping the village safe. But I'm afraid that it won't be enough. I want to be able to protect this village if necessary.'_

The spirit understood what she meant. This village was peaceful, more so than it's ever been. However... "I understand, but what I fear is what would happen if they found out that you were a maiden. They might grow jealous and try to kill you for the power." It voiced its concerns to Amber.

_'I know, but they don't know that the story is real. Also I'll just convince them that it's just a semblance. They won't know the difference since huntsman and huntresses don't stick around her often enough to know the difference.'_ Amber countered. The spirit puts its hand on its chin, thinking of an argument. But Amber's answer did seem to make sense. Magic is so far gone now that they could pass it off as a as far as its aware, no one in the village had aura, so the wouldn't know the difference.

"Ok, but we need a private place to train your magic first. Otherwise, people might peep at your training, then they will tell others. Before you know it a rumour is spread and, well, you know the rest."

Amber opened her mouth to retort but closed as she understands the argument. The spirit was right, she does need a place to train. Normally, she could do just about anything before the village got huge. When it was small, whatever secrets they had, it would always be kept themselves. Now though, not only were they more people, but some of these people can no longer be trusted with secrets. She remembered an argument where one of the husband had allegedly cheated on his wife, even though it was claimed false. It was meant to be kept in secret, between neighbours, but that was easily broken and it caused an uproar. So much negativity caused some of the Grimm to come to the village and nearly decimate it. Luckily, there were some huntsman in patrol on that particular day. They managed to take care of the Grimm quickly, but it was a close call. She would rather avoid that same faith if she could.

She thought of any places she could train alone. Going outside of the village again may not work again. Maybe she could ask one of the soldiers to train her in secret. But, her father wouldn't like that, he might catch on and might start a fight with said soldier. She tries to think any place possible for her to train. But nothing comes to mind as she slumps her shoulders in defeat, shaking her head. The spirit thought for a moment, before coming to a conclusion.

"I have an idea, what time do your parents sleep?"

Amber was confused by the question but replied. _'Around 9 or 10pm why?'_

"Alright, we'll sneak out to the forest when they fall asleep. What time do the guards patrol your house?"

_'I don't know. I don't usually stay up that late. Why?'_ Amber is slightly curious on what her spirit has to say.

"Ok, so here's what we need to do. We'll sneak out of the house once your parents have fallen asleep, then we'll sneak past the walls of the village and into the forest."

_'Isn't there a better plan than this?'_ Amber asked, disappointed and afraid of the spirits plan.

"Oh I'm sorry. Do you want to try to flirt with the guards again. I'm sure it will work a second time." The spirit said, dripping in sarcasm.

_'No, I'd rather not. But still, isn't there another solution? If we get caught, my parents will freak out. I was glad they at least lifted my house arrest, but I don't want to push it any further than necessary. Besides, how the heck are we gonna climb the wall?'_

"Simple, we sneak out of your house at night and climb to the walls in your village. If there are any guards in the area, we'll simply just knocked them out."

Amber wasn't on board in this idea. They may just be guards, but there was strength in numbers. Even though she is the supposed "The Fall Maiden", she was still learning how to use her powers. Besides, the guards had at least some form of training while she didn't have any at all. She may have strong aura but if you don't know how to use it, well you might as well be a snack for the Grimm.

_'And how are we supposed to take them out?'_ Amber doesn't like where this conversation is going. Its as if the spirit is suggesting that we kill the guards just to train.

"Well, I'll just use my lightning to momentarily stun them if they see us. They won't be able to remember our faces if we do it fast enough." The spirit declared, sounding very confident in its plan.

_'Well, I hate to break it to you, but even small volts can actually kill humans very easily. So unless you're planning on killing them, we need another solution.'_

The spirit clicked her tongue as she heard my counter-argument.

"Ok so instead of using lightning, I'll use strong winds to knock them out. It will be either a hit to the back of the head or straight to their nose. Sounds good?"

Amber nodded at this plan. At least they will be just knocked out and not severely injured. But it would be best if she could just avoid the guards at all.

_'But how are we gonna climb the walls once we got there?'_

"Simple, using wind of course. I will just lift you up in the air and place you at the other side."

Amber nodded, but something felt weird about this plan. The spirit implied that it would use magic to get outside. But she hasn't even learn how to use magic yet. Unless...

_'Are you going to take over my body when you use magic?'_ She asked, concerned with the idea of someone using her body temporarily. It felt wrong to her, as if she was being violated.

The spirit shook its head. "Nope. I can use it freely without needing to possess you. It would be stronger if I do possess you. But since we don't need the full power of the maiden yet, mine will suffice."

Amber was relieved, she would not know what to do if she was forced to release control of her body. She wondered what would happen to her while her body is possessed? Would she be a temporarily spirit? Or would she just lose consciousness until she regain back control? She had so many questions to ask but it could be saved for later. She just hopes that she wasn't caught by anyone. After talking for a bit, the spirit left and told her to call when it's time. Amber nodded as the spirit dissipating into dust. Amber groan in annoyance as she found herself alone again. It was weird. Normally she is usually ok being alone for the longest time, but now though? She found that being alone made her somehow empty. How did she not find out about this empty feeling? Maybe since it wasn't brought out, it wasn't an immediate concern of hers. But now that she had some good company to talk and vent to. Without the spirit, she felt empty. While she could just ask it to come back and talk to her, she didn't want to waste its time. After all, the spirit is a part of The Fall Maiden. She didn't want to waste its time, chatting all day. It had a mission to do.

Amber knew this but at the same time, she couldn't just find this situation fair at all. The spirit only has a year to teach her before it disappears permanently. She didn't want that. She wanted it to stay with her throughout her journey. She wanted the spirit to at least enjoy its instead of just training her. Amber walked back to the house, preparing for dinner.

* * *

_Time: 11:00pm_

Amber quietly opened the door to her room. Seeing no one within her line of sight, she opened and closed the door slowly, hoping that no one was awake. After a few moments, she went out of the house and called out to her spirit. The spirit appeared in front of her and up into the starry night sky. The spirit smiled before turning back to Amber, its mood seemed to brighten up a bit before quickly becoming serious once again. Amber knew what this meant.

It was time to break out of this village.

Amber started sneaking around the neighboring houses, hoping that she wasn't caught by any of the guards roaming the village. Seeing no one around, she continued to trek carefully through the dark and empty town. Eventually, she manages to reach to the wall of the village. The village wall was big, at least 20 feet tall. But it wouldn't be a problem for her as she saw her spirit preparing to use its "magic". The spirit nodded, moving her hand as she felt herself slowly being lifted in the air. She could see the wall becoming shorter and shorter as she was lifted by the wind. After a few moments, Amber was above the wall. The spirit disappeared and reappeared at the other side of the wall, still using her powers to guide the winds. Eventually, the spirit managed to set her down on the other side of the wall. Amber stumbled a bit, her legs wobbled before straightning herself and ran a ways into the forest, before finding a clearing. Not the same one as before, but it would do. Amber sat down at the grass, waiting for the spirit to give her instructions. The spirit sat down in front of her with a calm expression, taking a deep breath as it prepares itself.

"Alright so here's what we need to do." The spirit began, her face and voice expressing no emotion, as if it became empty. "Close your eyes and try to reach into your soul."

Amber tilted her head in confusion, not understanding its words. "How do I reach into my soul?"

"Simple, just try to imagine what your soul looks like and touch it. It could be anything really. It could be yourself, it could be an item that you hold dear, heck it can be even a simple light. It just has to represent you in a way."

Amber nodded then closed her eyes and began to visualize what her soul would look like. What would it look like though? The soul was the culmination of your being, something that has been unlocked after a long time. So she thought back on all the achievements she earned that could be used as a representation of her soul. But of all the things she has done, there was only one thing she knew she completed or at least earned.

Taking care of children.

Armed with this knowledge, she imagined her soul as one of the children she would often play with, reminding her that she has got what it takes to open a daycare center if nothing else. She saw her soul, a silhouette of a child, glowing in a yellow-orange state. She was stunned for a moment. Why was her aura colored this way and not yellow. Maybe because the spirit was with her? She reached out her soul, feeling a raw energy course through her body with a rush of energy. She opened her eyes and found herself glowing a bright yellow, which confused her even more. Why wasn't it yellow-orange like her soul said it would be. Maybe it had something to do with the spirit? She looked to the spirit, giving it a bright smile as it finally brought out her aura willingly. The spirit gave her a small, brief smile before returning to her stoic face.

"Now, I will pour some mana into your body so you can feel what it's like to have magic. Remember this feeling, as it is required to learn how to control it."

The spirit puts its hands with hers, before pouring its mana onto her. Amber felt the mana flowing through her, like cold water washing over her energetic body. It went on for a few moments before ceasing completely. The spirit got up, walked to a nearby tree and leaned against it.

"Now, before you can use any of your powers. You must be able to control the flow of your mana. So what I want you to do is try to bring out your mana and keep doing it until I say so." The spirit concluded.

Amber nodded before attempting to bring out her mana. It was a lot more difficult than she thought. Maybe it was because due to having your aura overlap over your mana it was more difficult to control? Well it didn't matter, as for the next few hours she attempted at bringing out her mana, she only brought out her aura again and again. Her spirit decided to call it a night and they went back to the village and snuck into the house undetected.

* * *

_One month and a few weeks_

_Time:12:00 am_

It has been a few months since Amber has begun her training. To say she made progress isn't a complete lie. She has made progress, albeit much slower than the spirit anticipated. It thought up of many reasons why training is slow. But it only came up with 2 reasons.

One reason is Amber's limited amount of time to train.

Unlike the previous maidens, Amber did not really have a lot of time to train her magic. At best, she can only train at night for a few hours She couldn't train in the day because she has chores to do and children to take care of. And even if she didn't have any of those, it was still too risky to be training where people could casually just look or spy at you, leaving no room for privacy.

Another reason was the similarity between aura and mana.

Amber wasn't a huntsman, nor had she ever used aura before. She couldn't feel the difference between mana and aura. "It felt similar in nature" she quoted. They had to spend a whole month just trying to figure out the difference between the two forces. The previous maidens already had aura and since they have used it for a long time, they were able to detect the difference.

But once that barrier had passed, she was able to at least start using magic. But due to her limited amount of time, Amber could not get much done nor focus as much when she gets too tired throughout the day. After getting through the mana issue, the first thing that the spirit taught Amber was how to use wind magic. The spirit had previously thought of teaching lightning first but decided against it since lightning is far more difficult to control than wind, and when it backfires, it would hurt like hell. So what was Amber doing right now? Well, she was learning how to fly. Or at least trying to but so far she has made no progress whatsoever, just trying to push the wind downwards with no avail.

This was her second lesson after being able to figure out how to manipulate wind, but at a very small scale like just blowing the leaves. But Amber insisted that since its considered "big progress", she thought that she can try to learn how to fly. Although the spirit already tried to tell her otherwise, Amber just ignored the spirit's advice and tried anyway. And for the past week, she has been trying to learn how to fly.

The spirit leaned against the tree as it watched Amber, attempting to push the wind below her, her face is red due to the amount of effort she is putting on. The spirit sighed as it decided to try talking her out of it.

Again.

"Come on already. You have been at this for the past week. You have been wasting time, trying to learn how to fly when it's clear you are not at the level yet. Just let's try to learn something else before we learn how to fly ok?" The spirit pleaded.

"N-no I think I can do it, just a little more." Amber denied as she still persist on trying to learn how to fly. The spirit sighs as its cries went on deaf ears yet again. Maybe it should have taught her lightning magic. That way if she fails, she would be zapped and might try to learn something else instead. The spirit chuckled mentally at that thought, but became sad again as it watches its host, attempting to push herself off the ground once again. Eventually, Amber just collapses on the ground again due to her exhaustion and lies down there. The spirit walks to Amber's lying form and joins her as they both gaze upon the empty night sky, admiring the beauty of it despite the lack of stars, it is still a nice thing to watch after a long day of work and training. After a few minutes, Amber gets up again and begins to try and fly once again. The spirit just shook its head as it notices a raven at a tree. Curious on what a raven is doing there, the spirit got up to take a closer look at it. It looked like a normal raven at a distance, but when taking a much better look at it. It noticed that it had red eyes instead of the normal black. In all of the times that the spirit has died, reincarnated and lived its life, it has never saw a raven quite like this one.

_'Maybe it's a rare type of raven.'_ The spirit mused as it looked at the raven, noticing that its movements were peculiar compared to most. Amber, noticing the spirit staring, calls out to it.

"Hey! What are you looking at?"

"Oh! It's just a raven here with red eyes." The raven tilted its head, confused as who Amber is talking too at the moment, clearly unaware of the spirit nearby it.

"A raven with red eyes?! Let me see." Amber stopped and runs up to the raven. But before she gotten even remotely close, the raven flew out of the branch into the distance. Amber frowned at the fact that she could not see it at all. The spirit was confused as to why it flew away when Amber only took a few steps. Amber shrugged her frown off to focus back on her "training". The spirit just slumped back down and stared at Amber, bored as she tries to force herself to fly yet again.

_'*sigh* This will be a long week.'_ It thought to itself as it decided to just fall asleep.

* * *

_The next day_

_11:00 am_

Amber was busy doing the chores today, thankfully that her parents stopped being weird and just went back to how they were before this "attack". They still didn't know how to process this at all. On one hand, this changed nothing with Amber at all. She is still the same old Amber as before, strong-willed, stubborn, caring and a good babysitter. On the other hand, this gives Amber the opportunity to train and become a huntsman. Which worried both her parents since she was their only child. So they hoped that she would not go down that path in the first place at all. Amber's mom watched her sweep the floor. She decided to talk with Amber to see what she would do with this power. She called Amber to the table to come and talk with her. Amber nodded and placed back her sweep and broom before sitting down at the table, feeling a bit anxious as to being called by her mother.

Her mother starts off with a calm voice. "Amber, what do you think about your aura?"

Amber became nervous at that moment. She couldn't tell her that she is training with a millennium old spirit that came from a fairy tale with magic in the middle of the night, outside the village without any protection at all. It would give her mother a heart attack and could potentially be in lockdown on her parents house for the rest of her life. So she decided to tell a lie.

"I'm not really sure mom. I mean, I have aura to protect myself so I guess it's cool, but I do not even train with it at all, so it's really just laying dormant at the moment." She replied as with much disinterest as possible, hoping not to arouse suspicion. She nodded back to Amber, letting out a sigh of relief as all her doubts have been washed away completely. Before staring back at Amber with a serious expression.

"Ok sweetie, just be careful ok? You may have an aura, but that doesn't mean that you can go out freely on your own. Even the beowolves will completely tear you apart because you don't have any training."

Amber nodded back, her heart racing back and forth, her mind in panic mode as it reinforces the idea of not telling them anything about her magic at all. Her mother smiled, telling her to finish her job while she makes lunch. Amber happily went back to get her cleaning supplies and continued to sweep the floor in an attempt to calm herself down completely. Afterwards, Amber went out to take a little break and a fresh breath of air, enjoying the clean air in the village. She looked around, hoping to see children just playing like normal. However, she saw guards instead of children, patrolling the area more than usual. The air is very tense around them, which worried her greatly. She went up to one of the guards to ask, hoping it's just some sort of new procedure.

"Hey sir, why are they more guards than usual, patrolling the area?"

The guard looked at her, narrowing his eyes before replying. "Well, Miss, you see, there was some strange activity nearby the forest. We are not sure if they are Grimm or not, but we are just taking precautionary measures just in case."

_'What type of strange activity? Surely it wasn't me since all I have been doing is trying to learn how to fly at the moment.'_ She pondered on as she decides to ask.

"So what type of strange activity are you talking about sir?"

The guard looked up in thought, but frowned and shook his head in denial. "I'm afraid I can't disclose that type of information Ma'am. Even if I was allowed to, the higher ups haven't told us anything about the activity. "

Amber was displeased by that information. So even if she went back to those guards that she seduced a few months ago, they couldn't tell her anything more than this guard had told her. Amber bit her lip as she nodded, giving him a "thank you" and walks away, thinking about how to get a hold of more information. She decided to ask more guards patrolling to see if they had any idea at all.

A few minutes had passed by, asking guards around, even going back to the same gate with the same guards and found nothing. All the guards seemed to be just as clueless as to why the sudden need to patrol. She even heard one of the guards telling others that the chief decided to call huntsman from either Signal or Beacon. That's unusual. The chief only called them whenever there is Grimm too strong to beat on their own or threats too much for them. Whatever this strange activity is, it sure caused an uproar and distress among the villagers and the guards alike. Amber went to those who appeared worried about the situation and calmed them down. If she remembered one thing about Grimm, is the fact that they are attracted to negative emotions. Whatever this "strange activity" is. They need all the men they can get. They don't need to deal Grimm on top of it as well.

After a few minutes of soothing the citizens, she sat down on the bench to rest, watching as she saw the guards barricading the gates and fortifying the walls with spikes. She looked around a bit to see if they were any children out today. Sadly, even after scanning the area for at least a few minutes, she couldn't find any children at all. Must have been locked inside their houses for protection. Not that she could blame them. Since she was becoming older, she was allowed to make decisions on her own, not needing to be babysat by her own parents. But if her parents had their way though? Well, she would still be locked up in her home, resting as her parents would say.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the spirit appeared in front of her, surprising Amber a bit and letting out a scream, getting weird looks from the guards patrolling the area. Amber manages to compose herself, ignoring the spirit for a bit, to smile and waved her hand at the guards. The guards looked at each other, confused on what had transpired before waving back at her and walking away. Amber turned to the spirit, clearly annoyed at the stunt that it pulled off.

_'Why did you just do that?! You could have warned me at least.'_

The spirit smiled nervously and scratched the back of its head, giving Amber a "sorry" before its attention is diverted, looking at the guards into the fortifying the village. The spirit narrowed its eyes a bit, before turning to Amber, its expression more serious than before.

"What's going on? Why are the guards preparing as if they are about to fight something."

Amber told the spirit what she knew. From the guards patrolling the area, to the strange activity that the chief only seems to know about. The spirit was confused at least. Why would the chief just not say anything about the strange activity to at least the guards. Maybe the chief knows that the guards might spill out the secret and thus just told them basically nothing at all? Unless he's trying to find a traitor within his guards, this is clearly a bad move on his part.

"So, the guards said they know nothing about this strange activity and just told them to fortify the village?"

_'That's about it yeah. Its weird that the chief would keep secrets from his guards. They are very loyal to him so they had no reason to not tell them anything at all.'_

The spirit mused a bit before coming up with a theory of its own. "Ok, so there are 3 possible reasons why he would not say anything to his guards at all."

Amber nods and gestures the spirit to continue, curious on what the spirit had came up. The spirit took a deep breath before continuing. "Ok so the first reason is that they are traitors within the guards."

_'Why would there be any traitors at all? It doesn't make sense. What would they gain here exactly?'_

The spirit shrugged. "Honestly, it could be anything. Maybe they want lien, maybe just control of the land or worst of all, to burn the village to the ground and raid it."

Amber shivered at the very thought of betrayal. She never really understood why some people enjoy destruction when it would always tear out your soul little by little. Perhaps maybe they just crave for destruction like the creatures of Grimm? She would never understand, nor did she want to as maybe that thought or idea might drive her mad completely.

The spirit, picking up on Amber's distress, decided to move on to the next reason. "Another reason is maybe the strange activity is actually a serious threat and it would be the best option not to tell the guards anything at all to prevent fear from seeping to the villagers. More fear means more Grimm, combined with this threat and you have yourselves a nice recipe for the village's destruction." The spirit said nonchalantly.

_'You seem not to care as if the village would be destroyed at all since you love spending your time with the children.'_ Amber snarled back at the spirit.

The spirit shook its head. "Its not like I don't care. Its just I have seen the destruction of many villages. So much so that I just don't feel fear anymore from it." The spirit looks to the houses and gives a sad smile. "As much as I hate to see villages like these go, there is not much we can do about it. You are still too inexperienced to help, the guards here don't have aura to protect themselves, and even if huntsman and huntresses are coming here, we are not sure if they can make it here in time before this "activity" carries out." It remarked sadly, counting on how many times it had seen village after village either gone or raided. Being able to live forever and seeing this type of destruction numbed the spirit of fear and anxiety over the millenia, thus not being able to react to the threat the same way as any other human beings would. Before Amber could reply, the spirit rose its hand. "Before you reply, I need to finish my last reason and maybe we can hope this is the reason why they act this way?"

_'And which is?'_

"The chief might have found something odd, something that couldn't be explained, therefore they are just taking safety measures just in case it becomes a threat." The spirit concluded. Amber pondered all these reasons for a moment. She saw some merit into the reasoning the spirit has made. The most unlikely one is where a traitor is among the ranks. It just didn't sit well with her. The very idea that one of her own, backstabbing you, it just doesn't feel right to her. The most likely reason and the one she hates is the second one, a huge threat that could destroy this entire village. She really hoped it wasn't the case and it was just something peculiar in the forest that just made everyone paranoid. The spirit, noticing Amber's afflicted state, decided to try and relieve her mind.

"Hey look, if this village ever gets attacked at all, we will be prepared. I'll just have to possess your body and do all the fighting ok?"

Amber looked back at the spirit, seeing it giving a gentle smile at her, she smiled back as well. The spirit is right. As long as she is here with her powers, she will do everything in her power to protect her home. After all, she has her spirit to help out as well. She may have not enough training, but she will do what she can.

Amber, filled with resolve, went to one of the guards who are fortifying the wall and asked if she could do anything to help at all. The spirit chuckled at that scene, feeling happy that her host was truly a good person, despite her flaws. The spirit noticed two strangers from a distance, looking towards Amber. The spirit decided to walk up to them, not being able to notice its presence is truly a benefit. The strangers were having a conversation which the spirit managed to eavesdropped at.

"Ugh, come on dude! It has been a month already since we began to spy on her. There is nothing interesting about her. Let's just go back and tell the boss already." Stranger no. 1 spoke with annoyance.

Stranger no. 2 looked at him. "Really? According to the reports, ever since she got her unlocked her aura, she been sitting on benches far more often than normal. Don't you find that odd?"

Stranger no. 1 shrugged"I don't know. Maybe she is just tired all the time?"

"But we have seen her do something out of the norm that would suggest otherwise." Stranger no. 2 refuted. He then brought out a piece of paper from his pocket and read a bit before continuing. "According to this note, Amber would be seen normally playing with the children with excitement and full of energy, but what we have noticed lately is, Amber sitting on the bench, just watching. For the past month. Not to mention on how she bobs her head from time to time. You can't tell me that's strange now can you?"

"Wow, you literally took note of everything she does huh?" Stranger no. 1 is in complete disbelief.

"Hmph! Unlike you, I take my job seriously. All you have been doing is complaining for the past month. You aren't helping." Stranger no. 2 swells in pride, taking in the fact that he is doing more than his supposed partner.

The spirit could not believe what it was hearing. They were being spied on. But what for? Whoever sent these guys to spy on her must have an interest in her. But the question is who would spy on her? It tried to think up of many people in the village for the past month who had some interest in her. The only people it could come up with, are her parents. But that would be impossible, considering that their pay may not be enough to support themselves if that were the case. The spirit decided to listen in further, hoping to get more information.

"Yeah yeah whatever." Stranger no. 1 waves his hand, showing his disinterest at the conversation. "Since you know what's wrong with her, what are we gonna do about it, just continue watching her?"

Stranger no. 2 nodded. "Of course, our objective is to observe her behavior to see if something is off about her. That's the doctors orders after all."

_'So a doctor huh? I think I know which doctor would that be.'_ The spirit thought as it watches the strangers, just watching Amber, who is currently carrying some heavy wood to the guards, which surprised them greatly.

"Hey, so was she always this strong?" Stranger no. 1 asked with interest.

Stranger no. 2 hit him straight in the head, clearly frustrated at the fact that he was uninformed about Amber's situation. "You clearly don't know what job you applied for if you asked me that question." He rubbed his temples and sighed before continuing. "Amber had her aura unlocked by some "heart attack" as the doctor called. But what is peculiar is the fact that she has two auras at the same time."

The spirit was shocked at least. She did not expect science to detect its presence early on. It might have underestimated science a lot more. That would explain why the doctor was so interested in her. At least this type of information is disclosed to the doctor, the hospital and these two.

Stranger no. 1 eyes widened at the information. "What?!" The spirit sighed, hoping that no one heard that.

Stranger no. 2 clamped his mouth, telling him to shut up while looking around. Seeing that no one was within their earshot he releases his mouth. "This job we were given is classified. Do you want us to get caught?!" He exclaimed, gritting his teeth in anger as he tries to get his emotions under control.

"N-no of course not sorry." Stranger no. 1 meekly apologises.

Stranger no. 2 takes a deep breath before replying. "Ok, I'll brief you on our objective, since clearly you weren't paying attention somehow." He looks around a bit, not seeing anyone near them, he continues on. "So she has some sort of heart attack, which gave her two auras. Not only that, but another weird energy is accompanied with it as well. Our objective is to observe whatever strange behavior comes from Amber and report that information back to the doctor. Understood?" He stood tall, waiting for his reply.

Stranger no. 1 nodded his head, actually understanding the task at hand. The spirit, having enough of this, decided to walk to Amber and tell her everything. It can see Amber, helping carrying woods with relative ease. The spirit went to her and tapped her shoulder to grab her attention. Amber noticed this, but can't react to it since she is trying to not act out of the ordinary. She nodded her head, indicating that she is listening on what would the spirit have to say. The spirit relayed all the information it received from the stranger she spied on.

Amber's expression, on the outside at least, seemed neutral at first. But in her mind, it was another thing. Her mind was currently in a rollercoaster of emotions. She was angry because the doctors already knew something was off with her but decided not to tell her anything. She would have a word with her doctor when she is done here.

The next emotion she felt was fear. Terrified due to the fact that they might know something about her spirit. Perhaps the second aura belonged to the spirit and their machines was able to detect it. That would be bad, not to mention, that they were also able to detect mana. That is more problematic than anything else. If they found out that it was magic, well she isn't sure what would really happen. But she knows it wouldn't end well for her.

Lastly she felt violated. Most likely due to the two strangers, currently stalking her and watching her every move. Which gave her chills down her spine. Deciding that she would confront these strangers, she calls out to the guards, telling them that she was tired and would want to go home to rest. The guards nodded back to her and waved her goodbye.

Now that her schedule was free, she went to a bench to sit down. She asked her spirit to tell her the location of these stalkers. The spirit happily nodded and disappeared for a moment before reappearing in the same spot. The spirit pointed to a building where the stalkers are using as cover. When Amber turned to building, she could see two guys quickly hiding behind the building.

Amber smirked at this and decided to run after them, hoping to catch them off guard. She then slowed down near the building and snuck her way to the corner. When she manages to reach to the corner, she jumped at them and scared them. The strangers, not knowing they would get caught, stumbled back at themselves and ran. But Amber wasn't done with them yet. She ran up to one of them and grabs their shirt. They both fell on each other from the momentum they were moving at.

The stranger got up slowly before looking straight at Amber. They both stare at each other for a few moments before the stranger attempts to run again. Amber manages to sweep him with a kick before trapping him with her arms. She looks down at the stranger with fierce eyes. The stranger seems to whimper in fear as her gaze bores down on him.

"P-please d-don't hurt me. I d-didn't do anything wrong." He pleads to Amber as she continues to stare at him for a few moments before she softens her gaze at him.

"Look, I will ask you a few questions. Just answer me honestly and there will be no problem between us ok?" Amber asked. The stranger rapidly nodded, scared of what she would do to him. He didn't want to know what she had planned for him if he disobeyed. Amber gave him a small smile before letting him go and sitting up straight. The stranger mimicked her movements as well.

"Alright, who are you?"

"M-my name is Noir Blanc" Noir replies meekly.

Amber nodded before continuing. "So Noir, who was your partner back there?"

"His name is Schwarz. I don't know his family name though."

Amber seemed to hum in thought as she puts that name on the back burner for now. She has one of them anyway. She can find him later if she needs for information. "Alright next question, what were you doing with your partner back there?"

"W-we were stalking you."

"Why?"

"Because someone paid us to stalk you. He paid a lot of money so we just accepted it." Noir admitted as he looks down, both in shame and fear. Amber sighed as she mulled over the information she has right now and the info the spirit gave her.

_'So that's why they were stalking me.'_ She thought as she continued. "Who paid you?"

"I-i don't remember who, but my partner sure did. He'd always make sure that he remembered everything."

Amber bit her lip as the words left his mouth to her ears. She seemed rather disappointed at him. As someone who was stalking her, he seems too incompetent. Maybe whoever hired these two was either desperate, or ran out of choice. But either way, she still hadn't gotten what she wanted. But this information was something she could work with. She looked to Noir. The latter looks down at the ground, still cowering in fear. Amber sighed before standing back up, gives her hand out to Noir. Noir was confused for a moment, wondering why she was being nice all of a sudden, but gladly took her hand to stand up. Suddenly, Amber grabbed his hand and put Noir in a headlock before whispering to him in a voice that sent chills down his spine.

"If I ever see you stalking me again, I will report you to the guards as a pervert and a stalker. Understand?"

She finished with a glare that could kill. Noir nodded rapidly before being let go and ran away. She let out a sigh before sitting on the ground, exhausted from keeping an act like that. She never really likes threatening people. The spirit appeared before Amber with a clearly confused look and sat down with her.

"Why didn't you asked him about what he knows about you?"

'I could have, but he seems to be a guy who looked like he would cry any second now and I kinda felt bad for him.' Amber admits shamefully. 'Besides, you already told me what he knows so why ask him in the first place.'

The spirit sighed before continuing. "I know I told you what he knows, but you could have gotten more information out of him. That type of attitude won't get you anywhere. You need to be more assertive of what you want. You can't expect people to give you everything you want bisnice all the time. Especially if he was a spy." The spirit berated her.

_`I know but I'm not used to doing things like this, you know.' Amber went to the wall and slumped down. 'I'm still trying to wrap my head around this mess I'm in right now. Magic, Gods, Maidens, it's like a fairytale come true but with no filters. No happy endings for everybody.'_ Amber wrapped her hands around her legs, pputting herhead in between them and sobbed quietly. _'People will get hurt because of me being the "Fall Maiden". I don't like acting this way. I hate what I'm doing even right now. I-I don't know if I'm ready for this.'_

The spirit was taken aback by this sudden change in attitude. The spirit would always see her just joking about it every now and then, but deep down, she was hurting more than it realized. The pressure of being the Fall Maiden was not new to it though and would always try to comfort it's host no matter what. But when she had tried to comfort them in the past, they would usually lash out at it, telling it that "it was its fault for being the Fall maiden in the first place". Some would even take their own lives to run away from the responsibility. So it was hesitant as to whether or not it should comfort her. But hearing the girl cry out her pain, stung its heart to no end. Wanting to do its best, the spirit sat down beside her and placed its hand on her back, gently rubbing it in hopes to calm her down. It did slow down her sobbing but it was still present. It was something at least, better than the other times it tried anyway.

It went on for a few minutes before Amber stopped completely. Being able to relieve herself of all the bad thoughts plaguing her mind was something she desperately needed. Amber looked up to the spirit smiling at her.

"I know you didn't choose this life." The spirit began. "But life is always unfair. People get hurt, cities fall to the ground, trust and bonds are broken and that's ok. That's part of life. We grow and learn from them." The spirit then hugged her tightly. Even though Amber could not hug back, she felt the warmth of the spirit. "But what we can do is make sure people won't get hurt anymore." The spirit retracted from its hug and gave her a warm smile. "Besides, you are a much better host than I had before. Your heart and soul are in the right place, and I'm glad you were chosen to be the Fall Maiden. I'm sure you will do wonderful things with this power."

Amber felt better at the speech her spirit gave her. Sure, it was cheesy and generic, but it still comforted her. Amber stood up before straightening herself. "Ok thank you. I have a lot of work ahead of me. But I will do my best." She pumped herself up with a fist in the air, showing her undying determination.

The spirit was glad that she was back to her old self. Whether or not she was hiding it again, it doesn't matter. It will continue to support her no matter what.

*BOOOM*

An explosion that shocked the ground, as people around her screamed in panic. Amber fell again on herself before looking up again, her face filled with fear and shock as she looks up to the sky and sees...

"It's a bandit airship."

* * *

**A/N: oh man this just got interesting, you guys probably guessed already who it was. So we will get to see a fight soon enough, hopefully i can write it well enough to satisfy you lot.**

**So anyway stay tuned and chow!**

**(If you wanna ask why chow instead of ciao is its my own version of it. And it reminds me a lot of food so yeah. Beta readers are the same from last)**


	7. Amber Autmnus Finale

**HAPPY NEW YEARS! well, technically for me it is since mine is one day ahead of America but whatever. Happy new year's. I literally pulled a fast one in this chapter. I wanted this chapter to be done before new year's or on new years, since there is no time for my beta readers to read this chapter. This will be my unedited version of this chapter.**

**Now a favor i will ask. I want you to compare this chapter to my first and second chapters and tell me how much i improved on my writing if i had at all. Please it would really help me out. I will update this chapter when my beta reader finishes it. So watch out for that.**

**In the meantime, happy new year's and hopefully to new and faster chapters!**

* * *

Darkness fills the sky as black smoke rises from the fires of the village.

The village that was once filled with happiness and life; is now a pool of despair and dread. Gunfire could be heard from the raging battlefield, as bandits and village guards alike, clashed with one another to try and kill one of the other. Blood filled the battlefield as many were slaughtered against the onslaught of these bandits. Women, children and guards alike lost their lives, their corpses now bathed in their own blood that covered the entire field.

As the battle raged on in the distance, 2 distinct figures stood against each other. One figure, in particular, had her left eye glow in an orange-yellow light. Her cold-hard gaze locked on to the figure in front of her. While the other figure, hidden in the mask, stared at her opponent, unfazed by her enemy's cold gaze. As she draws her sword, preparing to strike, the other one floats in the air, lightning crackling in her fingertips, preparing for her attack.

How did this happen? How did it come to this mess?

* * *

_A few minutes before_

_Location: Forest_

In the lush and dense forest was a bandit campsite. The campsite has airships resembling a wooden sailboat with a large ventral pod attached to the 'keel' containing the airship's propellers and a large through an access hatch. It has two propellers, one in the front and one in the back.

These airships are what Mistral would often use for transportation of goods, supplies for villages and students for different academies from Mistral. However, they have been redesigned to fit these bandits' purposes. First, they have been modified with cannons on each side of the ship and gun turrets installed on the front of the ship. Almost like a pirate ship.

Second is the symbol on the sail. The symbol is of 2 black and red feathers, intersecting with one another. In the middle of it is a gear on the outside of the circle while on the inside of the circle is a handle, pointing towards the little spears, which appears to be arranged to look like a clock. These changes for the airship are unnecessary for a normal group of bandits.

However, there are not just regular bandits. These bandits belong to the Branwen tribe. The Branwen tribe originated from Mistral are a group of proud sky-bandits that raid from the sky, pillaging villages on their way to whatever goal they have, which is still unknown to the public. The people in the tribe are not only regular bandits, but they also consist of ex-huntsman and huntresses who have fallen from the side of good and turned into one of crime. Such as the famous Raven Branwen, the current leader of the tribe and a former member of Team STRQ.

Her outfit consisted of a shallow cut black and red dress with black shorts underneath, with a series of beaded necklaces and a belt that wraps around her waist and carries her weapon's sheath. Attached also is a long black object that is either fur or feathers, with a red and white bandana material like hanging from behind her.

Her forearms bear red armored gauntlets that protrude outwards and solid black gloves. She wore black mid-thigh high leggings with red splatter patterns and black heels.

Lastly, she has long black hair and wears a mask that resembles the creatures of Grimm.

The mask has four eye slits, further enhancing her inhuman appearance. Why she wears the mask similar to the White Fang nobody knows. But rumors have been passed on, mostly theories of why she has given up her life of being a huntress and becoming a leader of a bandit tribe. One such theory suggests that she is starting a revolutionary group against huntsman and huntresses who abuse their power and fights back against them, thus their reason for invading Beacon Academy in the first place.

Another theory suggests that she got tired of fighting for others and wanting to fight only for herself, thus creating this tribe for the people who don't care about saving others and wanting to just survive on their own. This theory is more likely to be the truth due to the fact that the Branwen tribe holds a Darwinistic view on life. Their motto: "The weak die and the strong live." That is more or less why people despise the tribe as they are seen as selfish individuals, wanting nothing more than to just live off of supplies they have stolen from other settlements for their own greed.

Raven is currently overseeing the operation as bandits alike, gathering their ammo and supplies for the raid they are about to do. She barks out orders, telling them to speed up as they are burning daylight. The bandits who are terrified of her skill and power scrambled on to their feet, making haste in gathering their resources much quicker than before. Satisfied with the results, she enters her camp, seeing her 2nd in command Vernal, standing in the tent, like a trained soldier in Atlas.

She is a young woman with tan-colored skin, short brown hair and icy blue eyes. She had a tattoo of a bird rising from flowers on her left arm. She wore a brown vest over a torn white shirt, with a collar that appears to spike up behind her neck. Vernal wore maroon-colored pants with the right side rolled up to her thigh. She also wore dark brown knee guards that go down to her brown boots.

Vernal watched as Raven sits down in front of her wooden table, filled to the brim of paperwork that seemed to have come from the hospital recently. Raven picks up the paper, examining it for what it seemed like the third time before gathering all the documents and opening a red portal.

"Vernal, if anyone asks where am I, tell them I have something to take care of. I will be back shortly." she started before entering the portal. The portal led Raven to the office of a certain doctor.

"Y-your here again?! What do you want? I have given you all the information I have about Amber so what is now?!" Dr. Vanille inquired angrily as he pushed himself out of his table, looking at Raven with rage and fear in his eyes.

Raven smirked at the doctor before setting down the papers and walked towards him. Her hand gripping on her sword.

"Oh nothing doctor, I just wanted..." she began before bringing out her sword and stabbed the doctor towards his chest. The doctor let out a sharp gasp of air before slumping down to his desk. "To destroy any evidence of my presence. Including you." she finished as she pulled out her sword into her sheath and pulled out a device from her belt. She placed down the device onto the desk and proceeded to set the timer to 5:00. She then turns on the timer and re-opens her portal to leave and go back to her tent. Vernal straightened herself as she was about to receive her next order before another bandit came inside the tent. He bowed to Raven before giving out his status report.

"Boss, all the preparations for this raid are complete. We are waiting for your command," he stated.

"Then we shall start the raid now. I will be out in a moment, I need to speak with Vernal here." she dismissed him. The bandit nodded and went out of the tent to relay the message Raven gave him. Raven walked towards Vernal, staring directly into her eyes. They both stared at each other for a bit before Raven's gaze softened and hugged Vernal. Vernal, surprised by this sudden and unexpected action frozed at the moment, not entirely sure how to respond hesitantly hugs her back. Raven then pulls out from her hug and smiles at her. Vernal was confused. She never showed this type of affection towards her or to any of her tribe members. Usually, she is cold and distant and would only smile when she is entertained. But this smile is not one of amusement. No, it's something akin to showing love to her daughter.

"Umm, Raven-?"

"Vernal." Raven interrupted her as she began to speak. Her smile disappeared and became stoic again. "This raid will be one of the most dangerous, if not the most dangerous one I have planned yet. So if I die in this raid, you must take over the tribe and survive." Vernal was about to speak up but Raven continued. "The town we will be raiding is very standard. However, there is a person living there that could potentially stop our raid and kill me."

"Kill you? I'm sorry, what?" Vernal expressed her confusion towards her statement. They have been raiding villages for a long time now and they never had a problem before. Sure, they were close calls because of huntsman and huntresses but they have always managed to pull through. So hearing Raven says that she might die, unnerved Vernal quite a bit. "Raven." her voice now nothing more than a whisper. "How could someone stand up to your skill in combat. We have faced unfavorable odds before and managed to survive but now all of a sudden you say that you are scared of a person that could defeat you?"

Raven chuckled a bit at that statement. Finding the situation ironic. "Well, you're right about facing terrible odds and I won't start doubting myself now." she started. "But, if my hunch is correct, then we will have to be more careful as this threat could literally bring down the entire tribe along with me as well. We can't make any mistakes here." she breathes in and out before finishing up. "Don't worry about the threat. I'll take care of it. You just focus on taking their valuables to our ship." she then begins to walk out of the tent but not before Vernal calls out to her.

"Wait! What is going on? What threat are you talking about? If this person is so much of a threat that you can't handle then why bother attacking the village then? Why not look for another one then?"

Raven looks over to her shoulder to gaze at Vernal. She shouldn't be surprised. After all, she basically raised her like her own daughter when she was found one day in the woods, fending off against the Grimm with 2 daggers in a beaten state. She managed to rescue her that day and took her in, taught her everything how to fight, how to find food and how to be a bandit. Of course, it also meant training her as a huntress as well. Her mind is sharpened to think like one as well. The purpose of this camp is to survive. So it is odd for her to go against something that she could possibly lose. However, there is a reason for this particular risk.

"I will tell you everything after this raid. Since I trust you the most, I want you to promise me not to tell anyone what I will tell you soon," she answered back before leaving the tent. Vernal was dumbfounded, she has never hidden anything from the tribe before. Raven was known to the tribe as an honest and strong woman who has explained the harsh reality of this world. Where we have to fight to survive in this cruel place. But yet, now, is there something else she is hiding? Not to mention that she is the only one to be trusted with this information. What is this secret that she will not share with her tribe in the first place?

_'Well, I guess it will have to wait.'_

Vernal vacated the tent to see Raven talking with the other bandits, no doubt telling them to prepare for the raid. Raven then walks to her personal airship. Which is much bigger than the others, with more weapons and a bigger banner, showing off her tribe symbol proudly. Vernal sprints towards her side.

"Alright let's get a move on people! We got a village to raid!" Raven declared out loud to her tribe. It was met with shouts and cries of pride as her ship begins to ascend slowly off the ground. It eventually rises above the forest and into the clouds, moving into a certain direction. A few minutes later and they can see a small village on the ground, surrounded by lots of forests. Raven then looks at her timer in her belt.

10

9

"Alright listened up." Raven cries out to her tribe. "You know the drill. When I give you the signal, we jump off, take all the resources and bring it to the ship understood?"

A bandit raises his hand.

"Raven, what is the signal this time around?" he asked.

Raven smirks before looking at her timer.

3

2

1

*BOOOOOOOOM*

"There's your signal boys! Now go go go!" Raven instantly jumps out of the airship as she transforms into a bird as she dives down to the village. Meanwhile, the other bandits jump off the ship as well, carrying parachutes onto their backs as to slow their descent towards the ground due to the fact that some of them don't have an aura. And even those who don't have a particularly strong aura as well. The guards, seeing the bandits descend, started shooting them down. Most of their shots missed while stray bullets managed to hit the parachutes directly, causing some of them to fall very quickly and dropping down rather hard. Some of the bandits managed to get up, even with their injury and lunged themselves towards the guards. Blades rose high as they cut down their first guard. The guards started to fall back, fear crawling on their backs as they saw another comrade of theirs stabbed in the chest by another bandit. The guards aimed their rifles at the bandits and were about to shoot before being struck down by Vernal with her twin blades. Vernal nodded at them before running off to aid her tribe.

Meanwhile, Raven finally landed on the ground. Two guards are upon her, blades held high, ready to strike her. Unfortunately, for them, Raven drew her blade faster and cut down the two guards in one clean swoop before sheathing her blade back. The guard's bodies were decapitated. Raven didn't even bat an eye on her victim as she scans the area, looking for her intended target. Seeing no one in interest, she begins to walk slowly before her instincts kicked in and instantly jumped back to avoid a sword slash. She looks at her opponent, wanting to find out who had foolishly tried to cut her down.

It's a male, about 5'8 ft tall. He has jet black hair, tied in a ponytail. He has a meta plate armor with gold plating on it. He has metal leggings as well as metal boots, all shining in the daylight. He has a golden shield as well and the sword he tried to cut her down with seems to be also a mecha shift weapon as he immediately changes his weapon to a double-barrel shotgun and fired at her. She managed to bring out her weapon and starts to deflect most of his shots towards his guards, injuring them in the process. The male's eyes widened at that moment. Raven, sensing that moment of weakness, took that opportunity to charged straight at him and strike him down with one strike. But he managed to snap back to reality and bring shield to block her strike. He then jumps back, firing at her to try and distance himself from her. He proceeds to change his weapon back to his blade. He proceeds to position himself to a waiting guard stance. Shield up, protecting his body, leaving his head exposed. Raven rushed forward, trying to decapitate him in one stroke. But he blocked with his shield and was about to counter-attack if not for Raven sweeping under him, tumbling down, laying down on his back and facing towards Raven.

She began to bring her blade towards his chest. If it weren't for the interruption of a guard, shooting towards her. She was forced to deflect all the guard's attacks. Taking advantage of the distraction, the man quickly sprung up and abandoned his shield for speed and managed to hit her with his sword. She staggered back, her aura flashes red before turning back into a bird and circled for a bit before reappearing at the back of the guard and stabbed him in the back. The man saw this act and rushed towards her. She kicks the corpse towards him as a distraction and strikes him with her crimson blade. The man reeled back in slight pain as his silver aura flashes for a bit before dimming down completely. He jumps back to get his shield again and takes repositions himself against her.

"Not bad for a huntsman." Raven complimented him dryly. "But you're gonna have to do a lot better than that to best me in combat weakling."

The man growled at her, not taking her insults very lightly before calming himself down by breathing in and out. "I gotta say, for a rogue huntress, you're pretty tough. Too bad you have to use your training for a very selfish reason."

"Why do I need to defend these weaklings who rely on us solely for protection? We don't survive that way. We survive by fending for ourselves, not babysitting people who do nothing but complain about their daily lives." Raven replied nonchalantly before rushing towards the man and striking his shield relentlessly. After striking his shield for a bit, she jumps back to distance herself and continued. "So, you got a name boy or do I have to call you silver spoon for the entire fight." she joked.

The man was not amused by this at all but decided to respect her wish and tell her. "My name Pilak. And I will not fall here as I am the chieftain of this village and I will protect this village with my life!" he proudly proclaims to her. She rolled her eyes at the stupid name.

_'Seriously, what's up with these weird color names nowadays? The king of Vale is really stupid, basing names off of color for "unity".'_ she scoffed at the thought as she presses a button on her blade, her revolver-like chamber on her blade rotating into a fire dust compartment. She smiled deviously before pouring her aura into it. Her blade now set ablaze by the fire dust, she rushes at him once again with a flaming sword. Instead of trying to block, he abandoned his shield again and dodged a clean swipe from her. This time, Raven picks up the shield, opens her portal and throws it in there. Pilak's eye widened at the action. His shield his now gone and now he is forced to fight without one.

"It's for my trophy collection. For every huntsman and huntresses I fight, I usually collect their weapons. Either dead or alive. However, it is more amusing if alive. After all, I like the look of despair in your face the moment your weapon is gone." she remarks evilly as she rushes him once again. Her flaming blade meets his silver one as they clash each other once again.

* * *

Meanwhile Amber assists the guards by evacuating the children. In the event of a raid or a Grimm attack, the chieftain proposed a backup plan, the civilians will need to evacuate immediately while the soldiers fend off the invasion. Amber continues to assist as she watches in horror as her village she grew up is slowly being burned apart by these bandits.

_'I should be doing something here. I can't stand by and watch the village I grew up with getting destroyed by these bandits.'_

Clenching her fist, she leaves the guards and runs towards the battlefield. One bandit saw her and attempted to attack her before she got blown away by a gust of wind into a building. Amber didn't know her own strength it seems as she looks down onto herself, astonished that she could pull off something like this when she couldn't even fly yet.

This moment of distraction was enough for another bandit to sneak at her and struck her with his scimitar. She lets out a cry of pain as her aura flashes to life as this is the first time her aura actually protected her from a fatal blow. The bandit was shocked for a few moments before a lightning bolt came from the sky, struck down the poor fella, jolting up for a moment before slumping down to the ground.

"Amber! Be careful next time alright!?" the spirit screamed in her face as it was worried about her. Luckily, the blow was weak so it didn't do too much damage to her aura but Amber still needed to be careful and alert at all times. Amber scratches her head sheepishly for her mistakes before looking down at the bandit that is laid motionless.

"If you're worried about him then don't. He has aura so he'll live."

Amber noted before running off to help. But the spirit actually stops her by reappearing in front of Amber, causing her to stumble in surprise, landing face-first into the dirt. She glared at the spirit for attempting something so stupid. But when she looked back at the spirit, she saw it glaring back at her prompting her to hold her tongue for now.

"At your current level of skill, you won't be able to fend off the invasion. I need to take over your body." the spirit plainly stated.

'But, how will I learn if I don't fight for myself? I thought you want me to grow as a proper maiden.' she asked mentally.

"Unfortunately, this is not the time. Something is wrong here and I'm not sure if you can handle it. Let me fight this one." The spirit said, Amber was visibly upset, it felt as if she was being treated like a child again. The spirit caught on and quickly added. "Don't worry, we will practice your powers on the Grimm when this is over ok?"

Amber reluctantly nodded before sitting down on the ground, closed her eyes and tried to relax to let the spirit take over. The spirit walked over to Amber and went inside her body and went towards her soul. Amber's body convulses as the spirit's soul is taking over her body. Once the spirit took over her body, the spirit opened its eyes, it's left eye glowing in an orange-yellow glow. The spirit tried to gauge how much power she can currently use at her disposal. After a few moments, she has concluded that she can only use 50% of her current power, indicated by her left eye only glowing and not her right eye. She slowly stands up and stretches its temporary host before running towards the now bloody battlefield.

* * *

Back with Raven.

She is currently engaged in a sword fight as she continues to clash her blade against Pilak's own blade. The former's condition is fine while the latter's is... Well, bad would be an understatement. His body is currently covered and cuts and burns as his aura had been long depleted into the fight. His armor has cracks and parts of it destroyed. Sweat bears down on his body as he tries to fight with everything he has. Meanwhile, Raven's state is still exactly the same as before. Her aura is still in the green when she checks her scroll for clarification. The gap of skill between the two fighters is too wide from each other. As the Pilak parried another strike, Raven clicked on her button and her blade became cold, spreading it towards his weapon. He tried to hold on as the ice spreads to his hands before being forced to drop the sword quickly due to the immense pain. Raven smiled as she grabbed his half-frozen weapon, opened another portal and tossed the weapon towards the portal. The portal closes and she looks at him. The dilemma he is in right now amuses her. To the point, she might be a bit sadistic to see how she will make this more painful for him.

"You know, you have lasted much longer than I thought." she complimented him, albeit more genuine than her last one. "Tell you what, if you surrender yourself to me, then you can join my tribe and become stronger like me."

The chieftain gritted his teeth as he knows he stands no chance against her. Even with the training he received at Signal Academy all those years ago, he is still nowhere near close to her level. Granted, he failed the initiation at Beacon and decided to not try his luck and finished his studies at Signal. But the disparity between her skills and his own is disheartening, to say the least. But...

"Thanks for the offer, Raven," he smirked. "But I rather not join a coward tribe who sully the name of the huntsman." he pointed his shaking fingers towards her, despite his severe injuries. "A true huntsman fights to protect the weak no matter what. Even if it means I have to fight to the death then so be it."

Raven shook her head in complete disappointment. He could have been a valuable ally. Considering he uses a shield as well as a sword. He could have been used as a tank to protect her fellow tribe and help them fight to their fullest potential. But it doesn't matter to her. She will just find another one. She gets to a stand before dashing towards him and stabbed him towards his heart.

"You know if you weren't a huntsman at all. I would have just decapitated you or cut your body in half," she remarked as she could see the eyes of her opponent, slowly losing consciousness. "But since you gave me quite an entertaining fight, I will at least have your body be preserved as much as possible. Sorry for your armor by the way." she finishes as she kicked the corpse towards the hard ground. She wiped the sweat off of her forehead. She did not expect a huntsman to give her such a work out beside her own brother. But it's not the time to relive memories that cannot be ever brought back.

It's time to take the powers of a Maiden.

She found out about it yesterday when she was scouting for potential villages to raid. She then saw something that piqued her interest. A girl in a clearing, her face red due to the effort of doing something. She didn't know at the time of what to make of this so she decided to perch herself on a nearby branch and waited. Eventually, she was caught and forced to flee the scene. She was interested in the girl so when morning came around. She decided to sneak into the town hall and find out who that girl is. Raven was actually quite conflicted at herself. She wasn't sure why she was looking for that girl again and trying to get information about her. But her senses told her otherwise, it told her just to look for her at all cost. Raven was not one for doubting her instincts, considering the fact that it had saved her more times than she can count. So against her better judgment, she scoured through the cabinets and files, sorting them out and looking at the pictures to match. It finally paid off as she managed to find her face with her name.

As she scanned through her file, she only took note of relevant information, such as her name, which is Amber Autmnus. She looked through her other information such as her age and occupation but she wasn't clearly interested in them. Then she continued to scan her file until she found her medical file. As she read her file, her eyes widened at the information. It was so shocking that she had to read it twice to ensure she wasn't seeing things. After confirming her find, she grins deviously. The information that was written recently was about Amber having her aura unlocked by a heart attack and having two separate auras and weird blue energy coming off of her. She knew though what those blue energies are due to her time at Beacon and learning about the secrets of the world. The weird energy is mana and those who wielded mana tend to have magic. The only ones who have magic are Ozpin, Salem and the 4 maidens. Thus, her conclusion? There is a maiden living in this village. To truly confirm this info, she sneaks into the hospital and finds the doctor who took her as his patient to verify this information. Since the information in his papers was the same as the one in the town hall, she opens her portal to return to her base. Wanting to kill the maiden as soon as possible, she organized a small raid. But the raid was more than enough as the village itself isn't that well guarded, despite it being rich in resources, it seems the chieftain had been neglecting to implement proper defense for his village.

_'It is a shame that a village like this had to be destroyed. This place could have been a perfect place for a new base for my tribe. Oh well, no sense in crying over spilled milk, might as well as look for the maiden before she flees too far.'_

Raven walked around the burning village as she tries to locate Amber. Still, despite the attack, it seems that the maiden has yet to show itself. Maybe the maiden was smart or selfish enough to retreat when things got too tough. Oh well, it doesn't matter to her as she will track her down again and again until she finds her and takes her powers for herself. After all, a person who is a coward does not deserve those power-.

Raven's senses flared to life as she rapidly moves to the side to dodge a lightning strike from above, effectively interrupting her train of thought. She quickly whirled around to see where it came from, but she was forced to backflip to dodge another lightning strike.

And she had to continue dodging.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Raven hastily scans the area while simultaneously dodging lightning strikes very quickly, hoping to find her target. She managed to find a brown-haired girl behind a burnt down building. She smirks as she opens a portal from behind her, jumps back into it and reappears in front of the brown-haired girl. As soon as she left her portal, she grabbed her sword and brought it down towards her.

However, she seemed to underestimate her as her blade was about close into her hair, an invisible barrier blocked the path of the sword into cutting her head. The brown-haired turns around, her left eye glowing with hate and anger towards her.

"You know, it's people like you are the reasons why we can never hope to achieve eternal peace," she coolly stated as she pushes Raven back with a strong gust of wind, knocking the air out of her as she was being flung into the streets. Raven slowly gets up as she sees the brown-haired girl slowly walks towards her, her aura shining more now than ever. "It's because of your greed that this village has to pay the price. How many more innocent lives will they have to pay for people like you."

Raven ignored her comment and clicked on her sword, her chamber selected the gravity dust. She pushes a button, making her crimson blade now turn purple as she rushes towards her and slashes right over the brown-haired girl's head. But it was met with the same barrier that blocked her surprise attack. Despite using gravity dust, which makes her attack much heavier, therefore more difficult to block, she hasn't been able to even get through the barrier. Raven pushed with all her might, even going as far as to infuse more aura into her arms and hands to help push down the blade. But to no avail. The brown-haired girl simply puts her hand out and another strong gust of wind jabbed at her, this time it was more concentrated than the last time. She was flying in the air before slowly descending downwards, her body scraping towards the ground to stop her. She lands on a nearby building, which was surprisingly still in good condition. She grits her teeth as she slowly gets up, her body aching from the pain she felt, more specifically towards her stomach as that's where she was hit the most. She stabbed her sword towards the ground to use as a cane, as she grabs her scroll to look at her aura.

_'Not good, from those two attacks alone, she brought my aura down to almost in the yellow zone.'_

Now she had to admit, she had expectations. In fact, she knew that the maidens are forces of nature not to be trifled with. But to hear it and feel it are two completely different. She can't begin to comprehend how much power a maiden has. It's gonna be a challenge sure to beat someone like that. But if she manages to kill her, then her training combined with the power of the maiden, she can raid Beacon, take the relic of choice and start a new era. An era of war to take every other relic before Salem does. She can't afford to let her take those relics, otherwise, the survival of her tribe will be in danger, worst case, eradicated.

She puts her scroll away and stands up, panting as she looks towards the maiden with a determined look while the maiden stares back with a cold gaze. She was impressed that this woman is still standing from her counter-attacks. Sure, she isn't using her full power, but even then, it would be more than enough to even take down a dragon Grimm that lives supposedly in Mountain Glenn. Well, it doesn't matter to her how strong this person is, her objective is to get rid of her at all costs.

Even if it means she has to kill her.

The maiden slowly rose to the sky as her body shines even more brightly than before, an orange-yellow glow coats her body as she begins to channel more mana inwards before manifesting lightning-like spears around her, aimed at the masked woman and launching them towards her. The masked woman, despite her body's protest against moving, quickly shoved herself out of the way of the spears as she continued to move to avoid getting hit. She pumps aura towards her legs to numb the pain as she continues to dodge.

The maiden frowned at this, the threat seemingly not wanting to be put down that easily. It doesn't matter to her though, she needed to end this fight as quickly as possible, her body beginning to strain from the effort. While she looks normal from the outside, her body is beginning to hurt her internally as her body is not used to having 50% of her power pumped directly in her body. She begins to sweat more as she continues to launch more lightning spears towards her opponent in an effort to stop her but to no avail. Becoming frustrated, she pumps out more mana outwards as it forms more lightning spears faster and launching them at greater speeds. Her body now beginning to crackling with electricity, the pain in her body amplifies as it tries to cope with the additional mana influx. Her face scrunches in pain as she tries to focus on hitting her target.

Raven is beginning to tire out from all the dodging and pouring aura towards her legs to keep it going. She is now sweating profusely as she dodges another lighting spear, that one faster than the previous ones. She begins to doubt that she can make it out alive. However, she also notices the maiden's face in pain as she launches another spear towards her. She guessed that using this much power is taking a toll on her body and beginning to break down. Smirking at this, she opens a portal to her side and puts her hand in it before pulling it out and closing the portal. In her hand is a dust bomb, specifically a gravity dust bomb. She had never needed these bombs before as it never fitted her style of fighting, but desperate times call for desperate measures. She quickly dodges another spear, infuses a bit of aura into the bomb, pressing a button on it and throws it directly at the maiden. The maiden, not knowing what type of bomb it is, throws out a wind blade at it to cut it in half. As soon as the wind blade cut through it though, it detonated, resulting in a purple blast that she was caught in, forcing her towards the ground, which resulted in her screaming out in pain, her body finally took its toll on her.

Raven was now breathing heavily as she admired her own quick thinking in escaping her situation at the same time dealing with the maiden in one attack. Her red aura flashes for a moment before fizzling out. It seems that she pumped too much aura into her legs as a result, she spent too much and fizzled out completely when she relaxed. She was worried, she wasn't so sure if she can fight at this current state, but the maiden was down for the count, she didn't want to waste this opportunity in killing her now. Determined to end this, Raven limps slowly towards the fallen maiden, eyes scanning towards her environment, keeping an eye out just in case any more guards try to kill her.

When she reached the maiden's body, she was unconscious but breathing, dirt and ashes covered her entire body to boot. Wasting no time, she quickly unsheathes her sword and was about to stab her heart before the maiden lifts her right arm and shoots out a lightning bolt towards her face, destroying her mask and burning her left part of her face. Raven screams out in pain as she rolls to the floor, clutching her face in pain. She shouldn't have let her guard down. She was too careless and now her face has to pay the price. The maiden chuckles as she slowly gets up, wincing at every moment as her body aches in complete agony. The gravity bomb did a number on her as her aura couldn't protect her due to the amount of strain in her body, therefore, nullifying her aura to protect her at all. As she finally rises out of the ground, she looks towards her opponent, still in the ground, screaming in pain and covering her left side of her face. Deciding to end all of this, she summons one last lightning spear to end it all.

"Say goodbye, Bandit. Hope you get covered in darkness forever-"

She gasps as a bullet penetrated towards her back, the maiden turns around to see Vernal, her armed guns smoking out of her.

"You get away from her!" she screams in anger as she rushes towards her, her eyes screaming bloody mary as she is about to stab her with her twin blade. Before she can do it though, a lightning bolt from the sky, came down on the maiden's body, a bright light covering the field before dissipating, the maiden nowhere to be seen. Vernal was shocked, but most of all angry as she got away, but she quickly turns her attention towards her leader who is now just clutching her face. She is no longer screaming but she is still in pain. Concern washed over her as she rushes to Raven to assist her in any way she can.

"Raven is there anything I can do to help you?" Vernal asked, concerned about her leader's condition. Raven managed to look at her with her one good eye left, smiling though at the fact that at least she managed to raise someone to care for her.

"Just get me back to our airships. There should be medical supplies there to help with this." Raven stated her every word laced with pain in her voice. Vernal quickly nodded before helping out her leader off the ground, walking towards her airships to pick her up.

The lightning bolt appeared in the middle of the forest and stuck down in a flash of light before revealing Amber's body in the clearing. The spirit smirked at her escaped before scrunching in pain again. Her body now bleeding out of her back, she steadily attempts to stand up before falling back to the ground. The spirit knew this would happen though, she expected something like this to happen at some point in her fight. But this wasn't what she had expected at all. To be shot in the back without activating her wind barrier was all on her. She too let her guard down at the last minute, though it was more due to the fatigue in her body that she couldn't put it up anymore even if she tried.

But now she realized that she was gonna die, or more specifically, Amber was gonna die and it was the spirit's fault. The spirit was the one who essentially killed her. The spirit felt guilty knowing the fact that it controlled her body just to die after using it. Granted, she will just pass on to another body, but the fact that the spirit let this happen in the first place was devastating. It finally managed to comfort Amber about being a maiden and now she is going to die without knowing it. The spirit had to do something, it was its own fault that Amber will die prematurely, so the spirit can only do the one thing to save her life.

Sacrifice its own.

That would mean though that it would have to leave much earlier than intended but this is the only way to save Amber. Closing its eyes, it begins to use all her aura into fixing her badly damaged body, as its repairing her body, the spirit can feel its aura, slowly fading away. The spirit contended with this though, it managed to at least comfort someone of being a maiden. The only regret it has is it cannot live long enough to see her do great things, save people and see the lives it saved one last time

_'Please forgive me, Amber. I wish we had more time together before I left, but it seems that I have to leave early. Take care of yourself and be strong.'_ Those were the spirit's final thoughts before completely fading away, leaving her body and soul forever, the maiden powers merging with her soul, healing all of her wounds.

* * *

_Unknown forest_

_Time: 7:00 am_

Amber jolted out of her bed, sweat soaking her body. She puts her hand in her face as she tries to calm down from her nightmare. A nightmare that has been occurring for months now. Ever since her spirit left her, Amber fell into depression quickly, reminiscing all the times that she spent with the spirit. Even though the spirit is sometimes mean and likes to make her mad from time to time, she still misses it and wishes for the spirit to come back and pop out of nowhere and scare her like it always does. But she eventually had to snap out of it and started traveling Remnant to find any academy to train her while slowly learning how to use her powers on her own. It eventually led to her almost timely demise as those 3 assassins managed to nearly killing her before she was rescued by Tanner.

She gets out of her tent and stretches her legs and her arms, before hearing rustling in the bushes. Startled, she quickly launches a lightning bolt at the bush. There was a brief blue light and sparks coming out before the bush revealing Tanner, holding out his hand, a blue circle glowing before him before dissipating.

"Geez, Amber! What was that for!?" Tanner asked indignantly.

Amber apologizes to Tanner for nearly hitting him, stating that she was simply startled at the bush. Tanner lets out a long sigh before opening up a purple portal, bringing out cooked deer meat on a stick and handing it to her. She accepts it and they both sit down on the log, quietly eating while enjoying the calm atmosphere. There is only one thing in Amber's mind right now.

_'I will become a huntress and protect people I couldn't protect before. That is something a maiden should do right?'_


	8. Choices we make define who we are

Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.

Roy T. Bennett,

* * *

_11:00 am_

Amber was bored. Very bored.

It has been a few hours since they had left the campsite. After their miraculous escape from the bandits or whoever was hunting Amber down, understandably, they were very cautious. So much so that Tanner suggested to be very quiet as their senses would be heightened when they are no distractions. Which proved to be true as their hearing was vastly improved by the number of things they could hear easily. The birds were chirping happily, a stream burbling as it traveled along its bed, bubbling over rocks and branches, twigs were crunching under their feet. The sounds of nature, which have been mostly ignored by the travelers, suddenly were amplified as they made a conscious effort to focus on their surroundings, taking in every sight, smell, hearing, touch, and even taste! It was a very odd experience for Amber. Sure, she had to be quiet mostly when sneaking around people and sometimes Grimm, but when she knows she is safe, she would usually hum a nice tune to pass the time.

But now she can't even do that as when she tried to do so a couple of times, she was instantly silenced by the tired Tanner. She could tell by the look of exhaustion on his face that he didn't sleep well that night and most likely didn't go back to sleep at all. She wondered what he was doing while waiting for sunrise. You couldn't go out because Grimm would prey easier in the darkness, you couldn't hunt animals either as they would be at their homes sleeping, so what was he doing the entire night then? She wanted to know, but at the same time, she isn't sure if she should mingle with Tanner either. After all, even though he hasn't made any moves to attack her at all, her paranoia from her previous attack, prevented her from trusting him too much as well. She would hold a certain amount of caution around her just in case and prepare when he would inevitably defect and fight against her.

So far though, he hasn't and it was good for Amber, but she was still getting very bored from just walking in this forest for what seems like hours. She blamed him of course since he did run off in a random direction in the forest since he didn't have a map on him, they have to hope that they can find a road soon on their own. But the silence was getting to her as well and she needed to quench her desire for any sounds, otherwise, she might lose her mind and start screaming like a banshee on steroids. Since she knows that Tanner wouldn't start the conversation, she figured she would instead.

The problem is… it's been a while since she had a proper conversation with another human, minus the minimal interaction she had on the passing villages, so she doesn't know how to start the conversation. But at this point, the silence might drive her crazy so she will just bite the bullet and say what's in her mind right now.

"Hey, Tanner-"

"SHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Tanner interrupted her sentence very rudely. "Keep your voice down! We need to be vigilant at all times, talking will make us lose focus." He scolded in a very low tone.

"Well, I'm sorry Tanner, but the silence has been killing me obviously so I need to talk to somebody or it will drive me crazy!" She rebuked as she pulled her hair out to emphasize her point.

Tanner let out an exasperated sigh. He wasn't sure why he let her accompany him or the other way around. He knew that they were both looking for a town to settle in for a while. For him, to get a bath and sell the objects he has been carrying for a while. For her? He doesn't know nor does he intend to pry but he suggested that they would travel together as they can back each other up very easily. But now, he isn't so sure if that was the wisest decision he has made. Her mood swings seem to be annoying at times, being unable to predict what her feelings are at certain times. Oftentimes, she is just calm, other times she gets angry and others she just seems to be too cautious, courtesy of getting almost electrocuted if not for his quick 'Barrier' spell. It honestly bothered him so much that he wondered if it is indeed worth bringing her along. But many factors prove it was.

For one information. He had just learned that these creatures were called Grimm. If she has more basic knowledge like that then he would definitely need her help since he isn't sure about the culture of this world if they had some weird religion and didn't want to offend anybody by mistake. For two magic. It seems that this girl is a master of wielding magic. Although it's different from his own, judging by the lack of magic circles she would cast, but nevertheless, any useful knowledge regarding magic would benefit him since all his book does is let him learn new spells and nothing else. The last thing is a partner. Now he would never consider this as a problem at first. After all, he has been living fine on his own for a few months now give or take, however thanks to that brief little fight he witnessed, he knows that he may not be strong enough to take on whoever decides to fight him, whether it will be for money or to kill him he isn't sure so having someone like Amber, who could assist him in a fight will be very helpful in future battles.

He knows he can't rely on her forever, most likely since she has places to go or an objective, but until he can reach some sort of town or city, he is in danger of succumbing to either the Grimm or the other humans living in this forest. So for now, he really needs her by his side, just until he can find a city to rest and maybe train in there.

Although he says that, he can't but feel miffed, trying to satisfy the girl was more troublesome than he realized. This is why he probably never pursued any relationships in school. Because he never saw any point to them other than to admire their beauty and procreate. It's a very odd thing for him, one that would need to be researched on a later date. But for now…

"Yeah yeah I got it…" he replied back nonchalantly, waving his arms as if to dismiss her worry. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Umm." Amber seems to be having difficulty coming up with a topic to discuss, Tanner concluded, so he decided to start a topic first.

"Actually I got something to ask you first." He intruded on her. "So, how did you learn magic? Must be a pretty cool ability to have huh?"

Amber flinched at the memory of getting her magic for the first time. The way her body was convulsing as electricity coursed through her. How her heart beat so fast it felt like it was going to jump out of her. How much pain she had to go through just to get this power was also a painful memory for her, especially after losing her spirit on that fateful day. She has herself to blame for trying to focus on flying instead of practicing her offensive and defensive magic instead. Or maybe even just training her body harder. Maybe if she did that then her spirit might have… but alas, there is nothing she could do and just move on instead.

"Same as yours… hehe, he." She lied poorly, so much so that even Tanner wasn't convinced on that poor lie, hell even 10 yrs old could lie better than that. "My magic was passed on by a… mentor who wielded magic and then started to train me in how to use it. But then he died in a village raid then…" she trailed off.

Tanner knew where the explanation was going so he decided to just not continue the topic. "No need to explain any further I understand. In any case, I wanted to know since you are the only other person I met who used magic."

"Eh?" Amber was confused, didn't he live in a village full of magic-wielding people or did she get her facts wrong? "Don't you have other people wielding magic in the village?"

_'Crap!' _He then realized that his lie might backfire if he doesn't do something about it so he made a quick excuse. "No, my father was the only one who wielded magic in the village." He lied, at least much better than her lie at least.

She tried to contemplate the information she had gathered thus far. So far, this boy clearly wielded magic that never was seen before, his father apparently gave that magic to him and now he tells her that his village never had any magic, to begin with? It was suspicion at it's finest, but then again, she was withholding information herself so she didn't mind too much. Maybe when they understand each other more, then she might tell him more. But for now, she is content with this conversation, even though it wasn't much.

"Oh." She had no intention of prying any further so she decided to ask another question. "What are you going to do when we go to Vale?"

_'Vale? Must be the name of either the city or the country." _He concludes as he recalls what needs to do thee. "Well, most likely I'll take a shower first, then get a new set of clothes and probably sell the items I have with me." He counted his personal todo list. "And then find any place where they train people to fight these Grimm. And-"

"SO YOU'RE GOING TO A HUNTSMAN ACADEMY THEN!?" She suddenly yelled out and was in front of him in mere seconds, startling the poor teenager out of his wits. Realizing what she had done, she blushed deeply and retreated back, fidgeting out of embarrassment for the stunt she pulled. "I-i mean that I'm also going there t-to train as well to become a huntress as well." She mumbled under her breath but Tanner clearly heard her words. It seems the people who fight these creatures also have a name as well, better to keep that information in mind.

"So, what is the name of the academy then?" He asked, curious about the academy itself. "I've never been outside of the village before and we never had anybody come to our village to fight off against the Grimm since my father usually is the one who fends them off." He quickly added to the lie, not wanting any more holes in his lies.

Amber looked at him indecorously. It bothered her that Tanner has never heard of Beacon Academy, the prestigious school for huntsmen. But then again, most likely his village was probably way out of touch; they most likely never heard of the academy or maybe even the names of the Grimm, which would explain why he is so lacking in the knowledge department. Still, they should have at least this much basic knowledge, no matter how far their village is apart from the city so it still confused her. Nonetheless, she at least has a topic to talk about so she is glad about it.

She began to explain about Beacon Academy, which is an Academy that trains huntsmen and huntresses, the protectors of this world against the forces of Grimm. She also explains that Beacon Academy is a residential or boarding-type school, with its students residing in dormitories on the campus. The school seemed to provide all living facilities, including hygiene, food, and laundry. That interested Tanner, all he has to do is enroll in this Beacon Academy and get all the necessities right off the bat. Not to mention that since this school trains people on how to fight essentially, this may allow him to train on how to fight. This might make his job easier on killing Salem.

Salem… his purpose on why he was sent here, why he was in this damning world in the first place. Now that he thought about it, why did the God of Light want her or him dead in the first place? And why does he have to do it? The Gods could have easily killed her themselves. All they had to do is strike some lightning or control these Grimm and have her eaten or something. Why go through such lengths to do so? Why summon another person from another world to kill somebody who isn't associated at all from his world in the first place. It never made sense to him in the first place. He just didn't think about it too much since he was focusing on how not to die in this world, but now that he has the time? He wondered though, does he or she have some sort of God-killing weapon that she can use and they decided to use a pawn to defeat her? Then why not the people of this world then? Why him from another world and not anybody from here? It confused him greatly.

He was thinking about this for a while now since their conversation began, so much so that he pretty much ignored her discussion about the great war apparently that happened 80 years ago or so, he didn't care, all he cared about was answering this odd question of why him and not anybody else.

"Hey, you ok there." Tanner's thoughts were snapped as Amber stopped her brief history lesson to ask if he was alright.

He nodded. "Yeah I'm ok, just wondering about what I'm going to do in that academy I suppose. I have never been to a huntsman school, to be honest with you so I'm a bit nervous."

"Yeah, I agreed with you as well." Of course, they should be nervous, why wouldn't they be? They are going to a very prestigious school, made to train the best huntsmen and huntresses, of course, they should be nervous. "But, don't worry, I have survived here alone for a while now so have you so we can pass whatever test they have for us with flying colors." She pumped her first up to emphasize her point.

Tanner let out a laugh at her enthusiasm. _'There she goes again with her mood swings.' _He thought but just shook his head and smiled instead. He is fine with her being like this. Traveling alone for what seems like months does put a strain in somebody and having another person to talk with is nice.

Maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all for somebody to tag along with. But all good things must come to an end.

They suddenly hear the sound of roaring engines. Amber and Tanner looked up to see a bunch of flying vehicles, moving in a certain direction. The vehicles are what you see in those futuristic movies Tanner used to see. The vehicle looks like a standard plane, but it has two jet engines at each of their wings. Those engines seem to be moving parts as they are seen turning to another direction. But what also makes stand out is that they have a snowflake logo, plastered on the side of the vehicle. Amber squeals in joy, forcing Tanner to cover his ears from the high pitched noise.

"OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD! THERE'S A BULLHEAD, MEANING THERE MUST BE A CITY NEARBY COME ON LET'S FOLLOW IT LETS!" she grabs Tanner's wrist very roughly and pulls him with her, rushing to the flying vehicle while still within eyesight. Tanner pulled his hand back and just ran alongside her. He can run just fine without being dragged along.

They were running only for a few moments before the bullhead began descending downwards. It is a sign of it landing on a specific part. Tanner quickly grabs Amber's cloak and pulls it back, making her and Tanner fall on their backs. She quickly looks over to Tanner with an irritated expression.

"Hey! What's the big idea!? There's a bullhead over there and we need to ride it to get to Vale. Don't tell me you have motion sickness now." She lashes out angrily at him. But Tanner ignored her plight as something was telling him not to go there yet. He wasn't sure why, but that vehicle isn't something he can trust for some reason. He quickly gets up and starts sneaking to where the vehicle landed. Amber follows him, wanting to berate him again, but he quickly silences her as he senses something is wrong. Amber's expression changes quickly to one of concern due to Tanner's shift of expression.

The two adventurers sneaked to the open field, their heads kept down as to observe below. The field was no longer connected to a forest, but an open-pit mine. They could see minecarts, connected by rails that lead to several small caves. They were robots there, holding out rifles that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. It was glowing orange in their barrels and they were looking around to look for intruders more or less. The two travelers could hear pickaxe's mining into the ground from the caves, indicating that they are people working there right now. Amber and Tanner could see something coming out of the caves and they were horrified to see what came out of it.

People. Actual people came out of those caves looking worse for wear. Their appearance indicated that they haven't been well taken cared of, judging by the ragged clothes and thin figures. But what's odder about these people is that some of them have animal appendages attached to them. Some have tusks near their mouths while others had bunny ears and dog ears. It reminded Tanner of certain anime where people like them are mistreated by humans due to being different. He never thought that would be the reality for this world, but it seems he was proven wrong. He clenched his fist in anger, his jaw is now grating against his teeth, barely holding back the rage he has against these people.

"Poor Faunus, they don't deserve to live like this," Amber muttered under her breath with pity in her eyes.

_'Faunus huh? So that's what they called the demi-humans in this world.' _He thought as they see the faunus people, carrying what looked like glowing rocks of different colors. The colors of the different rocks differ as they were red, blue, yellow, green even purple ones. They were being carried to the empty boxes that were laid out for them. They put the rocks there and went back to the caves, presumably to go get more of those glowing rocks. While Tanner isn't sure what those rocks do, he assumed it is worth a lot of money or they are resources that are commonly needed in the cities, such as fuel and maybe even gas. He doesn't know but he doesn't want to ask again what those rocks are, lest he makes himself look like a fool again. He looks to the bullhead that landed and it opens from the side of the ship. People in white clothing start to pour out of the ship. One, in particular, is very muscular with a bo-staff at his back with two tasers at each end of it. He deduced that he is a guard alongside the white people as well.

One of the white people came out of the caves with a pistol and a whip in his belt. Most likely he is the one in charge of the entire operation or the one maintaining it. They began to speak to each other but due to their distances, the two adventurers can't hear the conversation. They watched them talk for a few minutes before everybody except the muscular guy, went back to the bullhead, which lifted off and went in another direction. Amber and Tanner slowly went back to the forest, most likely to discuss what they have seen.

"Tanner, what are we going to do about those faunus? Do you have a plan to rescue them?" She asked worriedly, hoping that he has some sort of plan. But what came next unexpectedly shattered her hopes.

"Nothing. We are going to do nothing and go on another path." He bluntly stated as he went back to where they both came from. Amber just stood there in shock from his words. She didn't expect him to be so cold to these poor faunus. Sure, human-faunus relations aren't the best due to the mistreatment of the faunus and the White Fang, but just because that's the case doesn't mean they should just stand by and watch as they ignore people suffering there.

No, she wouldn't stand by there and watch.

She quickly runs up to him and grabs his wrists forcibly. Tanner quickly turns around to find a pissed off, Amber.

"Nothing… you want to walk away and do nothing when you can clearly see people there suffering in those mines!? How heartless can you be? Are you so much of a racist that you would bat an eye to something horrible just because they are faunus!? Is that it!?" She never got this angry before, not since before her village was burnt down. She never held much hatred or anger against other people as much. Sure, she does get angry but not to this extent. She just can't believe some people like Tanner exist who would not help someone since they are not the same race as them. She honestly thought that the faunus did something to the humans and thus, the reason for all the hatred towards the faunus. But now she sees that the humans themselves are also the problem since they won't let go of the hatred they have as well.

Or that's what she thought of Tanner. His next words say otherwise.

"Nope, not at all. I'm not much of a racist person. That's just how life is, unfortunately." He replied with a melancholy tone. "I don't hate the faunus, I've never had, but the problem is though, you are trying to disrupt a government or kingdom operation whichever you want to call it. If they find out that we disrupt something that huge, we would be considered criminals and put in jail. Now I don't know about you, but I rather not go to jail tonight just because I decided to play hero all of a sudden. That's not something worth fighting over in my opinion. And besides, even if it isn't the faunus there, it would be humans there mining away as well. So in all honesty, we would make no difference. I'm afraid, so please don't try to get yourself killed out there. It isn't worth the effort."

Amber just took in those cruel harsh words. Although most of what he is saying is true and there is a likely chance they could get arrested, it shouldn't even matter to them at all. They are going to be huntsman and huntresses, people that would fight for what is right, no matter the obstacle. To simply just leave these suffering people because they are in the hand of the government is wrong and she doesn't even care if she fights against the kingdom as long as she can rescue those people then she would be fine.

"Even so Tanner. We shouldn't leave them like this. They are suffering out there and we have the power to rescue them and you are just going to flee because you are afraid of some government coming after us? If we are going to be huntsman and huntresses then we need to start acting like one. We need to rescue them… please." She hopes that her cries of plea would be able to convince Tanner to assist her. She may have said that she would want to rescue them but the truth is, she is still weakened from her fight with those assassins and may not be able to hold her own for long if she is to fight solo. So she wishes that Tanner would just help her in her endeavors, even though it may get them arrested, at least her mind would be at peace, knowing the fact that she managed to rescue them from that horrible place.

"Please help me rescue them…" she continues to ask for help as her hold on his wrist was loosened and eventually let go. She stares up to Tanner's brown eyes in sadness.

Tanner looks back at Amber with an uneasy expression. He really wanted to just look away from that expression of sorrow. He himself is conflicted in between keeping his promise to help anyone in need and just trying to survive in general. He wasn't so sure what he wanted to do anymore. Sure, he has a promise to keep to always be a good person and help others, but ironically that act of kindness was the one that got him killed in the first place and got placed in this world. He wasn't blaming his mother, of course, it was an unforeseen circumstance after all. But he couldn't help but just blame a little bit on that promise if he never had to keep it, he would probably still be alive on earth, enjoying life as it is or what's left of his life anyway. On one hand, if he intends to help Amber, they would be branded criminals, and more often than not, they might get caught and arrested, trap in prison for who knows how long and he may never manage to complete his quest in killing Salem. On the other hand, if he doesn't help, there is a chance that Amber might recklessly just charge in and try to do it herself while he runs away, hoping to find a city or village. Granted, his survival chances in the forest would be much lower than before, but it wouldn't matter since if they said to rescue the faunus, then it would be all for naught. There are too many variables that he can't count on and he isn't sure about the skill level of those people down there or how advanced the robots guarding are.

Simply put, it's a gamble with way too many risks and he isn't sure if he can try his luck in something this uncertain early on.

So he essentially has two choices. He will either help Amber and hope for the best or, he will run away and let the guilt eat away at him for the rest of his life.

Those two choices don't sound very appealing to him but he must make a choice either way.

* * *

**Date posted: April 22, 2020.**

**A/N: I blame myself for not writing enough. My motivation is just all over the place for this story, by all means, I won't give up on this story, but the updates are just sporadic at best. I hope to update this more frequently but I can't say. Btw please I need beta reader for this story lol. Just for grammar and punctuation nothing too serious.**

**Shameless promotion: I have a new story called A Certain Lost Accelerator so go check it out as well.**

**Anyway that's all for now, please leave a review, follow or favorite if you enjoy this story, cya guys later Chow.**


	9. Sacrifice

One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.

Joan of Arc

* * *

Sometimes Tanner wonders about those heroes in those fairy tale stories he used to read as a child. Why do heroes beat the bad guys or rescue princesses when they get absolutely nothing from these adventures. Sure, in some stories, the heroes either get the girl or all the treasures in the world, but most of the time, the heroes are pretty generic. Their reasoning for rescuing people because "it's the right thing to do." Or something along those lines. It's somewhat unrealistic to Tanner. It doesn't mean though that they aren't selfless people who would do out of their way to help people. They are people like that in the world, albeit a small minority of them. Unfortunately, for Tanner, he isn't the small minority. He has a reason why he helped people although the reasoning for it is at least unique. It isn't a promise for the heritage of the family name. It isn't a promise to get a girl as his bride. It isn't even a promise for money.

The reason why he helps people is that his mother had him promise to be a good person and help people.

So far throughout his life, he has tried to uphold that promise back on earth. He has helped people as much as he could within his own ability. He doesn't go far beyond and try to run as president to help people or be a scientist and create something as well. No, he just simply helps people in his own simple way. Walking the elderly, helping find lost objects, and helping them with their assignments. These are just a few of the many things he has done in his life. Some people were appreciated with his help while others were annoyed and even called him "nosy" at times but those words didn't bother him. He didn't care what people thought about him just as long as he helps others then he is fine. He is keeping a promise for his deceased mother. That's the only thing he could do for her.

But now he isn't so sure if he can keep that promise. After all, the choice that he could make now could very well break that promise.

Help Amber rescue the Faunus or Abandoned them to their fates.

At a glance, it's a very easy choice for those "selfless people". They would jump at the chance of helping them and be the hero. But if it were to say that, you might potentially die in the process as well it guaranteed death. In which case, most of these "selfless people" would just not risk their own lives at all. It makes sense, they are not related to these people so why go out of their way to help at all. They don't get anything out of it and could or will die in battle so what's the point.

Only a few people would say yes to the opportunity to help these poor souls without pay and might willingly die on the battlefield with a smile on their faces. Unfortunately for Tanner, he isn't that type of person. He is a boy of logic and reason. He won't simply throw his life away just because people ask him to. No, he has a right to say whether he should throw himself into the pit to help or not. He might if he could bring their parents back or maybe to make his life infinitely easier than it is. No such rewards exist in these choices, however. It's just simply trying to do the right thing no matter the cost. Call him a coward, but he especially can't die here in this new world as well. Considering that if he does, then his parents might pay the price and either take his place to kill Salem or just suffer alongside him. He can't just risk his life as if it's nothing important to him. He values his own life dammit.

On the other hand, abandoning those people would mean he has broken his promise to her mother. Let it be known that while he has helped people back on earth, it didn't mean he helped everyone he saw. They were some people that couldn't be helped as it wasn't either in his expertise or he doesn't have the capacity to help in a very difficult task. So this choice would be the optimal one if it wasn't for the fact that he could fight with this newfound magic. That's what made this choice far more difficult to take than he first thought. He has been fighting in this world for almost a few months he thinks. But it's already long enough that he could hold his own against humans to some degree. He isn't sure since he hasn't fought any other humans in this world at all. So he can't say, but he still has the power to help which means that he has a choice to help the Faunus or not.

And that is the predicament of Tanner Stormcloud. A boy with a promise to keep in this harsh and cruel world. Either help and keep his promise and potentially die or leave the faunus alone, letting you live longer to kill Salem but breaking that promise at the same time. A choice like that would break people with weak hearts. They would either just pick a choice they are not proud of or just kill themselves due to the guilt. Either way, he has to make a choice.

He just hoped his choice would be the right one for everyone's sake including his own.

* * *

Let it be known that everybody regrets their choices. Whether it would either be good or bad, sometimes the person would look back on these choices and cringe. Maybe hoping that if the person could have made either a better choice or a different choice entirely, perhaps he or she would have never regretted these choices at all. That's just how humans work, they strive to improve themselves because they don't want to make the same mistake twice, such as WWII and the SARS infection. These two major events shook the foundation of their world and strive to grow from them. So it is always important to look back and see if you have made the right choice or not.

Sadly, Tanner is seriously regretting his choice now of helping Amber. Why? Because he was bait. Yes, the bait.

He is currently stalking towards the open mine, as slow as he can as to not bring attention to himself. He just hoped that this plan that Amber made would be a great success. What's the plan exactly? Well, the plan is for him to act as bait, luring all the robots and the huge guy away from the mine while she goes and rescues the Faunus. He argued at first of course, why did he have to be bait? He isn't as experienced as he hoped to be. He hasn't fought any humans or robots for that matter, not to mention that he doesn't have any reliable way of fighting against them.

Sure, he has magic, but what if it isn't enough? Maybe he could deal with the robots since they don't look too smart themselves, but the guard himself? He isn't sure. The guard might have years of experience in his belt while he only has a few months at most of just surviving in the woods with those Grimm for company. Yes, the Grimm has toughened Tanner up a lot, but the natives may have just fought the Grimm just as long if not longer than he has and they may have strategies against them that could be very effective.

In other words, he is fighting against robots and an experienced guard who looks like that belongs in the military and that he could lose his life just as easily. But he pressed on anyway because, well, he has a promise to keep anyway. Even if he does, at least he can be proud, knowing that he kept his promise despite him dying in the process. That is one good way to die anyway at least.

He continues to stalk around the bushes, scanning his surroundings. He sees a bunch of robots with their guns on their hands, poised to aim and attack their targets as efficiently as possible. But one issue came to mind, the muscular guard was nowhere to be seen when he started sneaking around. It was odd, to say the least. Where is the guard that is supposed to be guarding the mine? If it wasn't him and Amber and replaced them with bandits they would have surely taken advantage of destroying the robots and getting those strange color crystals and potentially killing all the Faunus. Now that's a thought that he didn't want to think about.

He continues to stalk around the bushes at a very slow pace. He counted at least 20 robots and no guard. At this point all, he is doing and stalling for time to wait for the guard to return to his post so he can begin. But luck seems to be not on his side as one of the robots turned his way, it's visor changed to yellow for a moment before turning red completely, then the rest of the robots also turned red as they point their guns at the location where Tanner is hiding.

"Identify yourself, intruder." The robots state in a monotonous voice as they are pointing their guns at the bush, charging their rifles to fire.

_'Well shit, it looks like I'm screwing that plan and I'll just rush them, no point in hiding now.' _Tanner thought as he charged his fireball and ice to make the smokescreen again. Once it was fully charged, he shot the glowing ice spear at the robot's feet, missing on purpose to blind them all. The robots don't shoot, instead, they just continue to aim at the bush as they can see the heat signature of the person hiding in the bush, indicating that his plan failed from the start. Tanner cast his Protection, Hyper-Awareness, and Boost simultaneously. The three magic circles appear around his body, circling him for a moment before disappearing. He cast his "fighting gauntlets" at both of his hands as he jumped out of the bush and slammed his fist into the robot's abdomen, punching it right through it. The other robots begin to shoot at Tanner. He successfully creates a barrier in front of him while he dodges at his back as they are also robots there as well.

He rushed to the side that the barrier wasn't protecting. He shoved his fist into the visor directly, ceasing its function right away. He also cast two small barriers around him to block the incoming shots from the robots. He puts both of his hands and points to two robots for each hand and shoots his fireball, which destroys the robots much faster than he thought. Guess that these robots aren't as durable as he first thought. He turns around to see his blue barrier shatter and shots rain down upon him as he dodges them thanks to his super-reflexes. He surges forward to then, his intention of crushing them instantly. He got to one of the robots as Tanner grabs it's rifle off its metallic hands and uses the end of the gun to decapitate its head and uses its gun to shoot the other two guards in quick succession. He breathed a sigh of relief before ducking to a mine cart as more robots came up from the little hill up. He clutched his stolen rifle as he planned his next move. He needs to thin out the horde of robots coming his way and fast or he is toast.

He suddenly got an idea, although it might drain a lot of mana in the process, he doesn't care right now, except destroying these robots now. He puts both of his hands together as he charges up a large fireball instead of the small one he conjures quickly. He knows he is taking a risk as well as he cannot cast another spell at the process and he isn't sure if the robots won't just bomb his hiding spot but right now, this is his best shot.

As the battle rages on in the pit, Amber quickly flies upwards since the robots were all focused on Tanner. She knew she didn't like making him a bait. It was wrong of her, but she needs to conserve as much energy as possible. She still is recovering from the attempted assassin at her life, although she has recovered a lot, she isn't at full strength or what she calls her full strength. She just hopes that Tanner can hold on long enough for her to rescue the Faunus then rescue him.

As she flew over the battle, few robots spotted her and began unloading everything against her. Sadly it did nothing as the bullets bounced off the wind barrier that she made. She uses her wind blades to instantly behead their heads instantly with a clean cut. She floats down to the ground and runs to the nearest cave. As she enters the cave, she can see lots of holes on the walls dug out. She could see discarded tools on the ground as well since they are not in usable condition. She continues to walk to the cave with caution until she can hear a whimpering of a child. She quickens her pace and stumbles upon a family. The family had a wife, husband, and two kids. The wife who has dog ears was hugging her kids while their father who has tiger stripes in his skin was holding out his pickaxe as if it was a weapon.

"Stand back bandit. You have nothing to gain from us who are stripped of everything." The husband declared boldly to Amber. They must have thought that Amber was a bandit and the sounds of guns outside might indicate that they are fighting against her team. Which is technically true since Tanner is a part of her team., albeit a temporary one. Amber gives a small smile as she holds her hand out.

"I won't hurt either of you. Tanner and I just want to help you escape so please come with me." She said in a very gentle tone. The husband still held out his weapon in a threatening manner but not as aggressive as before. The sounds of battle could be heard through the cave as the inhabitants in the cave stayed silent for a good while. Amber is starting to sweat as she isn't so sure how long she can wait. She is wasting precious time given to her by Tanner. She knows he is strong, but even then, the number of robots would eventually overwhelm him if not taken care of. She retracted her hand and let out a sigh.

"Alright, then that's fine. Just leave when there are no more sounds out there ok?" She parted with these words as she left the cave to visit the other faunus to ensure that everything is fine.

Meanwhile, Tanner finished his large fireball spell, which is swirling around his hands like a raging inferno. He can just feel the intense heat from this spell. The barrage of bullets increases as more robots join the fray. Now his cover is about to break, he jumps out of his cover and launches the fireball into the ground. The explosion and the severe flames consume the many robots that were harassing Tanner. Unfortunately, the explosion also triggered a reaction to the glowing colored crystals, resulting in different types of explosion accompanying it as well.

Sparks of electricity, the ground suddenly forming out of nowhere, water just ejected out, some materials just forced to the ground as if that area's gravity has increased, even vines began to grow out in an odd fashion. The chaos which us Tanner's own fireball caused was just unfathomable at best. Once everything died down, it was a mess. It seems that the mines may not recover from this at all. It would be best if they leave now and hope the guard-

"WHO DARES INVADE ATLAS PROPERTY!?"

Doesn't come back. It seems too late as Tanner sees the tall muscular man wearing a white-clad uniform jump out of one of the caves with his huge bo-staff with two tasers? No, now that he got a good look at it, it isn't the case, in the two ends of the bo-staff is a container of sorts, which houses two yellow crystals in it. Tanner suddenly got a feeling of dread to not get hit by those crystals or he will feel a world of pain from them. The guard sees Tanner and grins before jumping again with his bo-staff aiming directly at him. Tanner quickly moves out of the way as the guard hits the ground instead, sparks of electricity came out from the staff. The guard looks to Tanner as he pulls out his staff from the ground and places it against his shoulder.

"So you're the bandit that decided to raid our mine eh?" He declares with a boisterous voice. "I will have fun beating you and taking you back to Atlas." He parted with these words before rushing towards Tanner. Tanner managed to duck from the overhead swing of the guard's weapon. Tanner quickly steps back thanks to his 'Gust' spell. The guard holds out his staff towards Tanner. For a moment nothing happens until the crystal begins to glow before discharging bolts of lightning towards Tanner. Luckily for him, he managed to put up a barrier just in time to block the attack. But he didn't have time to block a thrust to the gut. Tanner let out some spit before being knocked unto a bunch of minecarts that got toppled instantly. Tanner slowly gets up, clutching his stomach as he sees the guard laughing like a madman.

"No one can withstand the might of Atlas! Not the White Fang! Not the Branwen tribe! Not even the creatures of Grimm can fight against Atlas! Certainly not a bandit such as yourself." He boasted for a bit, puffing his chest out before looking serious at Tanner. "But what you are doing is very unhonorable. Attacking this mine for resources, surely you bandits have more tact than that!" The guard quickly charges at Tanner again. Tanner managed to escape the charge before looking back to see the guard effortlessly destroy the minecart he landed on with just his weapon only. He gulped at this. He was thankful for the 'Protection' spell or else he wound been skewed already by that first attack. He knew his chances of beating this guard were slim so he decided to just retreat and buy Amber time to get here and help him. He just ran. Yup, he just ran into one of the caves.

"Hey! Get back here coward!" The guard yelled out to him before chasing him into the cave.

Meanwhile, Amber had just finished visiting one of the last caves and exited. She noticed that Tanner was gone and was wondering if he abandoned her. But she shook that thought away. He may have been tough to be convinced, but he seems to be the person to not abandon her so she decides to wait and see. Eventually, she sees Tanner running out of a cave with the guard chasing after him. She jumps down and launches a lightning spear at the guard. The guard didn't see the attack coming and was struck down. Tanner turned back and saw Amber. He let out a relieved sigh before going to Amber.

"You sure took your time strolling in the caves back there. Thanks for ditching me to the robots there." Tanner complained to her. She just scratched her head in guilt. She did take longer than necessary but part of it was time being spent to reassure the Faunus that they are the good guys to rescue her so she couldn't be fully blamed for her delay. They hear a grunt as they both turn their heads to the guard who is standing up proudly as if he never took that hit at all.

"Sneak attack!? What a cheap move! Then again, you are bandits so I expected nothing less from you lower beings." The guard criticized the duo. Tanner just let out an exasperated sigh. He is aware that he isn't in the middle ages since robots are a thing but at the same time, maybe their mindset is still in the middle ages so it gave him a headache as to how to clarify this age. The confusing age? The merged age? Eh, he can think about it later as he prepares for battle. He re-castes his three spells on him again. This is the last time he can do this since he is really low on mana. He could probably do a fireball or two then that's it.

"Why? Why do this to them? Their conditions are horrible. They have families and homes that you took away. How could you do this to them?" Amber scrutinized the guard. Probably to ask why he is letting the Faunus live in that type of condition. It's sad that Amber doesn't have a lot of experience outside. Despite Tanner being new to this world, he is all too familiar with this type of culture and slavery. After all, it happened back on his world and is still happening now. He isn't as surprised as Amber is.

"Why? To become the best of course." He argues back. "For Atlas to become the superior kingdom, one must topple against another. What better way to do that is to use the most hated species among them all. The Faunus."

Amber shook with fury at his response. It was disgusting the way that Atlas thinks of the faunus as nothing more than tools to them. It disgusted her. All she could do right now is to beat this guard and free the faunus. It seems the time for talking is over. The real fight begins.

* * *

**Play Valse hot composed by Sagiso Shirou.**

* * *

Amber floats to the sky as her right eye shines brightly with power. The wind around her starts to pick up as lighting can be seen forming around her. Her aura is now brimming with power as she glows yellow-orange. Tanner and the guard can feel the pressure of the power being emanating from the girl. Tanner only briefly got a glimpse of her power when he was struck down for the first time by her. He remembers the helplessness he felt at that moment when she basically cages him against the tree. It showed him that they are always people stronger than you, even if you were gifted by gods above. Tanner immediately vacated the area ASAP. He would rather not be anywhere near her if possible.

Meanwhile, the guard licked his lips as he could feel the immense pressure of power presented to him by a mere girl no less. He now realized that these are no mere bandits, they are something else entirely. The boy he fought while inexperienced, held some sort of strange power he has never seen before. And he has been through a lot in his years as a soldier. The energy the guy gave felt unknown to him. But the unknown energy is now even more notable in the girl. He can just feel the overwhelming difference in power. Even if she is just as inexperienced as the guy, the guard knew he could still lose. So he prepares himself as he grips his bo-staff in front of him, preparing for any move or attack. He watches closely as he sees the male bandit retreat a very safe distance from them. Wise move, wish he could do the same, but it would bring shame to Atlas if he backs down now. So he holds his head high as he readies himself.

The first strike begins as Amber calls out lightning from the sky. The guard sensed the attack and dodges to the sides. The lighting impacted the ground a moment later from where he was standing, but even though he isn't near the impact, he could just feel the amount of power from just that strike. He is nervous, sweating profusely from that attack alone. But he can't give up. It's for Atlas! He dodges another lightning bolt from her as he readies his semblance. Acero, which focuses all his aura into his skin, allowing him to be invincible for a short amount of time. It depends on the reserves of one's aura on how long it lasts. For him, it can be activated for two minutes before it stops functioning, leaving him without aura once it's over. It's essentially a gamble for him, but he has no other choice, or he will lose.

The guard's aura begins to give brightly as it covers his entire body with a steel blue color. It then stops shining, but the color of his aura is still there to be seen. Amber is confused by this but doesn't care as she strikes another lightning bolt at him. This time, the guard just stood there as he took the lightning headfirst and didn't flinch. It surprised Amber as she never saw anyone try to do something so reckless. But this is a first for everything. But she doesn't deter from her goal as she uses her wind to push the guard back instead. If she can't hurt him, then she should just buy time until she could. The only issue is since she hasn't fully recovered yet, she may not be able to use her maiden powers for no longer than a minute minimum.

The guard panics as she might have found a weakness already to his semblance. He starts to push his body through the strong winds. Normally, these types of winds would shred normal humans or damage their aura rapidly, but thanks to his semblance, all he needs to worry about is his time limit. He can even use the full strength of his body to 100% since it also nullifies pain as well. Once he managed to get up to 100% percent of his strength, he brushed the winds aside as if they were nothing to him. Amber is getting worried about this development. She tries to use more of her power to create even stronger winds but it doesn't even seem to faze the guard anymore as he just jumps to the air, his bo-staff aiming at her face. She quickly moved to the side as the attack brushed by her. He lands on the ground with a big crater, way bigger than a normal human could create. He jumped again to try and hit her again but it missed again as she just flew backward to avoid another stomp. He continues to chase after her as he keeps on jumping and jumping to try and land a hit on her.

Tanner just watches to the side as he sees the guard trying to relentlessly hurt Amber. It seems to be in Amber's favor as she continues to dodge his attacks fairly easily. However, he notices that Amber seems to be struggling to dodge the attacks and fly as well. Did she still not recover from her fight against the bandits? If so, he needs to assist her even if the guard Is invincible from any attacks. He rushes to the battle as he conjures up a fireball and throws it at the guard. It landed but just dissipated as soon as it made contact. The guard did not even acknowledge the attack and just kept focusing on Amber instead. Tanner knew he had to do something or she may die. He looks around the damaged battlefield. The only thing that could help him is those strange colored rocks which do weird elemental attacks when damaged. He isn't sure about the mechanics on these rocks but right now, it didn't matter to him. He can cast one more fireball before he is spent. He finds a minecart full of these crystals and starts to rummage it to look for a specific crystal. He found what he was looking for a moment later. A purple crystal. He remembered that one of these crystals could force gravity in a specific area to multiply like crazy. He saw it briefly that it was covered in purple light. Deciding to gamble with this, he grabs the purple crystal and runs back to the battle.

He still sees Amber being chased by the guard, her fatigue now more notable as she slows down even further. Tanner waited until the guard jumped again. While in mid-air, Tanner threw the purple crystal and cast his last 'Fireball' with it. The fireball hit the crystal in the air as it exploded in a purple light that entrapped the guard, forcing him down to the ground. Despite not feeling the pain because of his semblance, he still can't move due to the immense pressure. Amber lands down as she suddenly collapses. Tanner supported her immediately with his arm. He sets her down on the ground to rest while he looks to the guard, still trapped in the purple light. The aura in his skin disappears a moment later. The guard is now feeling that pain of his own weight crushing him. The guard glares at Tanner for his cheap move, but he just shrubs as he gets his sword from his sheath to strike him when the light disappears. The purple light disappears a moment later, at the same time Tanner's buff is gone as well. Meaning he is now nothing more than a normal human.

He quickly rushes over to the fallen guard and tries to stab him, but the guard immediately rolls to the side as he grabs his staff and strikes Tanner's leg. Tanner grunted with one leg down as he saw his opponent about to strike him again. He quickly blocks the attack, but since it was a sloppy attempt, it was swatted aside easily. Not good for Tanner. No mana, no weapon as well. He is screwed for good. Tanner is struck in the stomach as he lets out a gasp of air before falling down on his back. The guard grins as he prepares to strike him down with his bo-staff to kill him.

"Normally I would have let you live and instead arrested you, but I don't think Atlas won't mind if I get rid of you two troublesome bandits _permanently. _Any last words bandit?" The guard comments about his casual death as if it's just another day of the job. Tanner had nothing to say to this guard. After all, he is just doing his job while Tanner tries to make sure Amber doesn't die. Well, now it's his fault that they might both die here. He should have stopped her or just fled, but alas his promise to her mother would just prevent him from making a rash decision. He just smiled, accepting his death anyway. But rocks were being thrown at the guard. The guard looks behind him as he sees a couple of Faunus throwing rocks at him. Tanner uses this distraction to grab his sword and stab him in the back, piercing his lung directly.

The Faunus gasp, the guard was shocked, Amber was horrified at the scene. Tanner just felt rage from the adrenaline rush. After all, he has experienced death right in front of him multiple times to stop caring. First his mother, then his father, then his grandparents and his sisters and finally, his own death and the robber's death at his hand. At this point, he just realized he broke the promise he made to her mother. That shocked his brain to reality. Tanner was horrified by his own action. Why did he do this? He did it in self-defense the first time as he was about to die. But in this situation, he could have just sliced his legs to render the guard immobile, but instead, he just stabbed him.

"Ah-ahhh, damn this is how I d-die huh?" The guard stutters as he struggles to breathe due to the blood filling up his lungs. He spits more blood when the sword was pulled out from him. The guard slumps to the ground as blood dyes the hard ground.

In battle, one makes a sacrifice to gain victory. It seems that someone sacrificed a promise in exchange for victory.

That outcome is the worst one for anyone in this situation, in the end, both sides lost something. One side lost their resources and life, while the other lost their innocence and their hands are now stained red.

Tanner is now a full-blooded murder.

* * *

**Date posted: May 3, 2020**

**A/N: well that was unexpected wasn't it. The protagonist murders another person, this time within his own volition. What do you think? Leave your reviews below what you think. Anyway, I'll be seeing you later, stay safe everyone! Chow!**


	10. Of criminals and villains

A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. Each should have its own reward.

George R.R. Martin,

* * *

_8:00 pm_

A fire crackled in the corner of the campsite, projecting long shadows on the surrounding area. The light cast by the flames danced across the dark trunks of the trees, twisting and curling in obscure shapes and providing a small radius of light. The fire itself was pulsating, the glowing embers seemed to move in rhythm with the flames, matching every dip and sweep. It was mesmerizing to watch, colors of orange and red gave way to yellow and white near the center, where the emanating heat was the greatest.

Tanner stood in the middle of the campfire, staring straight at the flames as he tried to contemplate what had just happened in the past few days. He had just committed a murder, to an officer no less. Granted, that officer was a bit maybe crazy in the head, but he at least was protecting the mine from most likely Grimm and other bandits who would dare raid the mine. But now he and the rest of the robots are dead because of their actions. After having killed the officer, Amber released the captured Faunus and guarded them alongside Tanner until they reached a village not far from the mine. It was barren as if the village was left in a hurry. Turns out, this was the village of the faunus that was captured, which was fortunate that they didn't burn the village down and just left it there.

While the village was in bad shape, it wasn't impossible to be restored. So the faunus with the help of Amber and Tanner, they managed to reimburse the village within two days. Tanner had not said a word throughout the two days except for necessary things like orders from the faunus to do specific tasks or telling them his own condition whether or not he is tired. Amber had tried talking to him, but it didn't work as he either ignored her or just stayed away from her when the opportunity presented itself. He just didn't want to discuss anything after the horrifying event that was transpired.

It wasn't like he blamed Amber for convincing him to do this in the first place, after all, no one convinced him to kill the officer, he did it with his own hands again. He knew it hadn't been the first time he killed, but yet this one felt even worse than the first time he killed someone. Maybe because he was protecting someone or he was about to die at that time that it didn't really occur to him just how bad he would feel later on. Now that he is alive and he looked back at it, he shouldn't have done that. There was no need to in the first place, all he had to do was just distract the guard long enough so they could escape, but yet, he just had the brilliant idea of just killing the man who was just doing the job. While he was eccentric, he wasn't a bad person, he was just doing his duty to protect the mine from bandits such as himself and the Grimm. He didn't deserve to die like that. No one did.

"Hey, Tanner you ok?" Amber's concerned voice snapped him out of it as he looked at her. Her concern was unnecessary. After all, he didn't deserve it after the crap he pulled. He just nodded at her as he continued to stare back at the fire. Amber didn't take that too kindly as she used her maiden powers to blow the fire towards his face, forcing him to stumble over as to not get burnt in the face. Tanner stood up and glared hatefully at her, but she beat him to the punch first.

"What's wrong with you Tanner? Look I get it, you killed somebody by accident alright. I get it, it's not something we can get used to, but just ignoring me when I'm trying to help you out is not gonna make it feel better, so just talk to me please." She pleaded with him. What she didn't realize though was the backlash that she is about to receive from the rant.

"What's wrong with me? What's WRONG WITH YOU?! THIS WAS YOUR SUGGESTION, AFTER ALL, TO GO THERE AND RESCUE THOSE FAUNUS BACK THERE. I TOLD YOU NO, BUT SINCE YOU WANTED TO PLAY THE HERO SO BADLY, WE - NO I HAD TO KILL SOMEBODY JUST TO DO IT! SO YOU HAPPY NOW AMBER!? HAPPY THAT I HAD TO KILL SOMEBODY JUST TO RESCUE THEM?! HAPPY THAT I HAD TO BREAK MY ONLY PROMISE I HAD LEFT WITH MY DEAD PARENTS WHO I CAN NEVER SEE AGAIN TILL I DIE HUH!? HAPPY NOW!?"

This statement was kinda ironic, considering the fact that he had already killed somebody back on Earth before coming to this new world. But at least, he wanted to try and see if he can still keep his promise by not murdering people who don't deserve it. Turns out, his luck of keeping promises is pretty poor and he had to kill another poor soul just to save an idiot trying to be a hero.

Tanner panted as he blew up in front of Amber with all his emotions. This had been bottling up for two days straight so it was good that he managed to let it out of his chest. Amber stood still, shocked at the amount of animosity and hatred towards her just because she wanted to do the right thing. She was taught to do the right thing no matter what. It was more evident with her maiden powers since her spirit trusted her with this power to do the right thing. But now she is being questioned at her actions just because Tanner had to kill someone for her. Did that make her feel better? No, probably not. But it did make Tanner feel a little better at least so it didn't matter to her how she feels about it. She just wanted to help Tanner, even if she gets insulted and questions her actions. After all, maybe it was her fault things happened this way. If maybe she rested enough or was strong enough, perhaps they could have won much more easily and maybe end the conflict bloodless. But alas, such as the fate of the world.

Tanner and Amber didn't talk to each other for the rest of the night. The campfire was burnt out by this point and went back to each of their tents. One was still angry while the other one was sad and maybe hurt a little inside. Amber just hopes that things will be better tomorrow.

* * *

_Downtown Vale_

_12:00 am_

Vale is a large city on the western coast of the Kingdom of Vale.

Vale has a large port area where passenger and cargo ships dock, including international ships from Vacuo and Atlas. The cargo docks include large-scale container handling facilities, indicating that the port handles large quantities of goods on a frequent basis.

To the southeast lies a mountainous and uninhabited area, but it is also known to contain the ruins of Mountain Glenn, a failed attempt by the kingdom to extend the city's borders. The location was overrun by Grimm and had to be fenced off from the rest of the city.

The cityscape was unapologetically urban. There were no trees or city planted blooms, just monoliths of concrete soaring out of the sidewalk in an exact grid pattern. At night it was beautiful in its own way, so many lights. By day you relied on the sky to let you know that it wasn't a monochromatic world; just one in which the people were too busy for art. For over generation progress had meant the teaching of specific skill sets to the children of the metropolis and art had been the first casualty, then dance, then music and television. In this city we only work and eat, there is no time to sweep fall leaves or plant spring flowers, hardly even enough to notice the blue above. With no more designers our clothing and cars never change, there are five styles of everything in white through the grey. You pick the best one for you and use it until it falls apart before returning it for a replacement. In this way, Vale outperforms those in the region.

This peaceful city was interrupted as two figures ran in the deep alleyways. One of them is a huntsman, who's noticeable features are his golden armor and his huge mace at his back.

Meanwhile, the other figure is the criminal. He has slanted, dark-green eyes and bright, long, orange hair, with long bangs covering his right eye. Black eyeliner traced his visible left eye.

He wears a red-lined white suit with long black pants and black shoes. His accessories included a small gray scarf, black gloves with buckled sleeves, and a black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band. In his right hand is a normal cane.

"GET BACK HERE ROMAN!" The golden huntsman demanded the now named "Roman". Roman looked back at the huntsman and blew a raspberry before continuing to run. The huntsman, now enraged and with new vigor, used his aura to boost his legs to grant him more speed, but still not close enough to catch him. Eventually, they both ran at a dead end. The huntsman pants as he deactivated his aura from his legs as Roman just looks back at him with a disappointed look on his face.

"Oh come on surely you got more energy than that kid! In my youthful days, I was running even twice as fast as you now. Geez, what's up with these kids today, so slow." He mocked the huntsman in front of him. The huntsman glared back at Roman with anger as he grabs his huge mace from his back, gripping it with two hands as he readies to strike him down. Suddenly the huntsman gasps for air as a rapier-like blade, stabbed through his groin, forcing him to kneel down before being quickly decapitated to end his pain.

The one who stabbed the huntsman is a small petite girl with pale-white complexion, pink and brown hair, and her eyes have two different colors. Her left eye is brown while her right is pale pink.

She wears a white cropped wide, broad-tailed jacket with a pink interior, collar, a single gold button, and large pink cuffs. She wears brown pants with a dark belt that has a gray buckle and an additional narrow belt under it. Under her jacket is a brown corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips. She also wears a multitude of black beaded necklaces, which hang haphazardly around her neck. She also wears black and white spat styled under the knee boots alongside black gloves.

"Well, great job as always Neo, but still, maybe we need to keep the killings to a down low, otherwise there might not be enough huntsman to kill Grimm for us, and trust me, I don't want to go back to that poor village back there where all we did was kill boring Grimm instead of stealing, understood?" He chastised the young girl, which responded just by rolling her eyes over, not caring about what he just said. He sighed as he began to stroll right past the body, but not before grabbing the corpse's money, grabbing all his dust and using his fire dust to burn his body and the head. After all, he didn't want anyone to know that homicide just happened here, not to mention that since he burnt the body, no one would know who died here or who he was chasing after. He doesn't want any more people in his trail than he needs.

As he and Neo walked back to their temporary bar, his mind wandered back to how did this happen in the first place. It was supposed to be a very easy raid for the notorious Roman Torchwick. He was just robbing a jewelry store for some lien and nothing else. He didn't want some fake jewelry to sell anyway. But as luck would have it, the huntsman's son was the one manning the store temporarily, so imagine his surprise when he had to grab his huge mace from underneath the table and started to chase him down. It was a waste of time for him, not to mention that he didn't even manage to at least rob the place for money and decided to just leave the store alone. He would just find another one instead, one that hopefully doesn't have a huntsman guarding it again.

He needs as much lien as possible, why? Well, to take a vacation of course! It's been a while since Roman and Neo had left Vale for a quick vacation to Vacuo, which wasn't the best idea, granted the beach was nice and he got to see some girls that maybe he would want to settle down with, but he doubts that Neo would approve any of them. They are just eye candies to him and not worth his time.

They eventually reached their temporary base. The warehouse has been abandoned for a while due to unknown reasons that Roman could care less of as he is just satisfied to have a base in Vale to do his evil deeds. The corrugated iron roof was domed some twenty-five feet above them, like a shanty-town cathedral. The grain was piled high at the far end and for the farm rats, it was a free-for-all. At the other end were the packed sacks of grain ready for distribution.

Roman has been gathering supplies for a while now for a few months now. For reasons unknown, he had a strange feeling that Vale won't be safe for long and his instincts are telling him to book out of here as soon as possible. That's why they have been trying to grab lien more than the resources themselves since they need to buy the bullhead needed for transportation of their stolen goods. After all, if instincts taught him anything, it's that no matter how unbelievable it may be, his guts have some sort of foresight into the future. This gut feeling allowed him to survive and thrive in the underworld and rise to the tops. So he would trust it again to keep himself safe from harm as well as Neo.

But something in his soul told him to stop his movements, which he did, alerting Neo as well of his sudden lack of motion. She was about to go and ask why, but all of a sudden, she also stopped moving as well, her eyes darting around the room as if to look for something as well. It seems the Neo also felt the same thing he felt. It was strange, it was as if there is a huge threat in this warehouse that would be able to destroy them if they are not careful with their next moves. Roman also looks around to search for the threat, but sadly comes up short.

But then the clicking of heels could be heard from one side of the warehouse. They both turned around to see Cinder walking towards them with a smirk on her face, alongside her are Mercury and Emerald as well. The trio stopped a few meters away from Roman, gauging them from afar. Roman could now feel his soul, egging him to get out as soon as possible. He felt as if he wouldn't be able to win this fight as easily as the last guy he fought. He looks to Neo and also sees the apprehensive look as well. It seems both of them could feel just how much of a threat these three are, but they would need to play this smart and try to figure a way out of this mess before things go wrong very quickly.

"No need to be so scared of me, after all, I won't bite." Cinder starts up the conversation with a smile, a smile that would speak death over a thousand times. Roman gulped at this but chose to put up a facade.

"Me? Scared? Why would I be scared of a beautiful girl like you?" Roman speaks with as much confidence as he could muster up. After all, this is a first for him to speak to a threat this big so casually. "I would have loved to invite you to dinner sometime if it weren't for the fact that we would be leaving soon."

"Oh? And pray to tell where would you go?" Cinder was curious about where their new potential acquaintances would be leaving so soon. But Roman wouldn't budge at all.

"Oh well you know, here and there, somewhere, everywhere. The world is our canvas for guys like me. So, is there something you require of us? After all, I'm pretty sure if you were a huntress, the whole Vale Police would be swarming our little hideout by now and I can tell just by looking at your eyes, that you have something devious in mind."

"Hmmm, I do have something in mind, but I must applaud you at the very least for your very quick detective work. You were able to tell already who is the one in control of this conversation." Cinder smirked evilly at that. "All I need from you are your services for the time being then you could go on to your merry way of exploring the world as you desire."

"And what would you have me do then? Miss…"

"Cinder, you may call me Cinder." She smiled.

Roman cleared his throat. "Alright Miss Cinder, what would you require of me, the greatest thief of all of Vale?"

"Simple." Cinder puts her hand out in front of him for a handshake. "Join us for a little while, then we can explain the details of our plans for this… party of ours."

"And if I refuse?" Roman knew he shouldn't be asking as stupid as that. Of course, he knew the most likely scenario for refusing an offer like that is…

"Your death."

… Not what he had expected. He actually thought for a minute that he would probably just get arrested, or just be ratted out of Vale. He didn't expect to just die if he chooses to refuse. Then again, considering the pressure this woman is emanating out, he should have known better. But if he does accept…Then what would become of Vale? Sure, it isn't like he really cared about the place, he could just leave and go to either Mistral or Vacuo and he still wouldn't care, but something tells him in his soul that it wouldn't be just about Vale or Mistral or Vacuo heck, even Atlas. If he chooses to accept this Villainess deal, then maybe humanity as a whole would be doomed. He may be a criminal, he may lie, cheat, steal, and kill, but it was only for his own benefit and not to harm the kingdom as a whole. He didn't want the destruction of humanity just because he is a criminal. He has standards to uphold dammit.

But if he does decline as well, then his and Neo's life are essentially forfeit as well. He didn't even need to see the woman fight just to feel the amount of power coming from her just by standing there. His chances of winning this little confrontation are next to none at this point. But then again, maybe Neo might not forgive him if he was right and Vale did fall apart because of these evildoers. After all, the reason why Neo liked Vale is because her favorite brand of ice cream is made here and it would probably be not a wise idea to go against Neo and her ice cream. No one wants to go against Neo and her baby.

Speaking of Neo, he looks to her to see any sort of confirmation or clue to what she is feeling at least, but all he sees is a death glare being shot at the woman. He probably guessed that she doesn't want to team up with her at all. Neither does he, but does he have any other choice? He could either join them and burn humanity or refuse and die like a pig.

Or a third option.

"Sorry beautiful, but I'm afraid I have to decline your little offer there." He refused as he readied himself for a losing fight. Neo also prepares herself as well for this confrontation.

"Oh? Do tell your reasoning for declining such a generous offer of sparing your life." Cinder continued on with her condescending tone as she too along with her subordinates prepared themselves for battle as well.

"Well, miss I hate to break it to you but this offer of yours has a problem that just won't allow me to accept it no matter what." He replied back as he readied his Melodic Cudgel for a plan he has in mind.

"And what is this problem then in our deal then?" Cinder asks away even though there would be no turning back at this point. She would either force them to cooperate with her or die fleeing.

Roman smirks as he throws an earth crystal that rolled a few feet ahead of him before aiming his cane at it and answering her question as well.

"Neo wouldn't get her favorite ice cream anymore."

He shoots from his cane, hitting the earth crystal in the process. It created a huge amount of sand and dust to blind them, which gave him a chance to run alongside Neo as they both attempt to leave the warehouse, but not before a flaming arrow whiz past them and is shot at the top of the door, lighting up for a few moments before exploding, forcing Roman and Neo to stop in their tracks as metal debris fall to block their exits.

"Well Neo, it was fun while it lasted. Might as well just kick the bucket now while we still can kick eh?" Roman joked about their predicament, which wasn't funny to Neo and kicked him in the shins. Roman let out a yell due to the high heels that she is wearing, making the kick hurt even more than normal. After their little banter, they both turned around to face their opponents head-on. They both know at this point there is no turning back for these criminals. They may be bad guys, but even they have limits to how far they would go just for the sake of committing crimes.

Cinder rushes to Roman with her twin blades named Midnight on her hands, forming an X formation. He managed to block it with his cane and pushed her back, giving him a bit of distance from her. Mercury jumps into the fray, doing a roundhouse kick aimed at his head. Roman managed to duck from the attack and shot at the ground, which resulted in an explosion that sent Mercury flying a few feet away from him for the moment. Cinder rushed back in as she swung her twin blades left and right. Roman struggled to parry her attacks as she swung her blades much faster than anticipated. As soon as there is an opening for him, he swings his cane to disarm one of her blades and shoots at her chest.

Cinder was knocked back a few feet before pushing herself upward quickly, forming her disarmed blade again and rushing towards Roman once again, this time with more ferocity than the last. Mercury also joins the fray as he and Cinder tag-team with each other to keep Roman from fighting back, which seems to be working as Roman can hardly keep up with his defense, not only having to deal with Cinder's attack but also Mercury's as well. This becomes too much for him as kicks and gashes from her blade impact his aura. He could tell at this point, he will die if he keeps this up, so he has one option left.

He coats his entire body in an orange aura as he shoots the ground beneath him to get him away from them. He already knew at this point that there was no point fighting people way out of their league, and just basing that on a few seconds of the encounter he had with them. He knew they were fucked. But hey, at least if they did manage to live through this. Then this might prove that he truly is the greatest thief of all time. Not only managing to fend off against Huntsmen and Huntresses but also fend off against power-hungry megalomaniacs that just want to see the world burn.

Oh, the stories he could share when he does have kids. Now that's something he would look forward to.

Meanwhile, Neo was having the time of her life as she danced around the bullets Emerald was shooting from her twin guns named Thief's Respite. Having enough of Neo's games, she used her semblance to change her perception. Sadly this didn't work as she was suddenly hit from behind by a kick to the head, setting Emerald off balance for a bit before getting kicked in the gut which pushed her back a few feet before skidding across the unforgiving ground. Neo strolls happily as she sees Emerald slowly getting up. She was puzzled about why her semblance didn't work on her. Her semblance allows her to manipulate their perception of sight, forcing their opponents to see things that aren't there or making certain things invisible to then as well. But yet somehow, Neo managed to either nullify the semblance or somehow ignore it altogether, which shouldn't still be possible at all.

"How! Why the hell did my semblance not work on you? Do you have some sort of canceling semblance or something?" Emerald asked indecorously as she takes a stance once more, with less confidence than before and more caution. Neo only just shrugs, not seeing any reason to really answer a villain's question. Neo just stands there as she waits for Emerald's next move. Which didn't come for a few seconds before an explosion was heard and Neo saw Roman, flying through the roof of the warehouse, bulldozing through the metal sheet like it was nothing, which gave Emerald an opening to rush to her and tried to stab her with her knife. When it connected, instead of the flashing of aura or the grunt of pain, she heard glass shattering in her ear as she saw her hit Neo but shattered into glass instead.

Emerald was so stunned by the display, she didn't have time to react as another kick was sent to her gut, causing her to land on the crates full of rice. Neo smirked at her before seemingly teleporting off into where Roman is.

Roman groaned as he slowly got up from his poor landing strategy. His head was pounding due to literally tearing through metal with his head. Seriously why did he think that was a damn good idea in the first place to do that stunt at all. He's lucky he just had enough aura to pull it off, otherwise, his head might have gone splat. He reached into his pocket for his scroll to check his aura levels.

_40%_

_'Fuck I'm screwed.' _He already knew this, but he tried anyway. If that one brief encounter managed to bring his aura down this low already, how much more if he continued to fight. He may well be a very good fighter against huntsmen, but Cinder was on a whole other level. He just can't compete with her no matter what. Suddenly, a flash of light startled him before Neo appeared before him, looking over him with a very worried expression. Despite their little banners and arguments, Neo is the only person he would rely on to face the cold harsh reality of this world together. He would count on her to help him support through everything. Even though she is much younger than him, the fact that she would go through lengths with him, speaks volumes of their trust and loyalty to one another.

He won't abandon her and she won't abandon him either.

"Neo! Good, you here!" His voice became hoarse for a few moments as the dust collected in his nose and throat from the landing. "New plan, forget the lien and everything else, we gotta steal a bullhead now. There is a hanger not too far from here where we can steal one easily. We'll just go there and steal one and leave." He struggled to get up as his legs were still shaky from his little stunt there.

Neo supported him with her wrapping her right arm around his waist, hoisting him up. She then realized his words and just glared at him for a bit. Her gaze was asking. _'Why the hell do we need to buy one then?'_

"Well duh! So we can carry our shit without being discovered that we stole a damn airship, but so much for that plan. Looks like we ain't doing-"

Roman's explanation was interrupted as an arrow landed a few feet ahead of them. The tip of the arrow glowing brightly with each passing second. Roman knew what would happen next so he braced Neo, hugging her like a stuffed toy before the arrow exploded. They both were sent flying, sprawling out of control for a few moments. Roman managed to still hold on to Neo, shifting his position before hitting the cold ground. He took the brunt of the fall, protecting Neo with his body. His back was now screaming as if it was on fire, both literally from the fire of that explosion and hitting the ground in a very harsh matter.

Neo looked up to him as he showed his pained smile to her, happy that she wasn't hurt but grunted in pain as well. Neo quickly got off of him and tried to help him up before being forced to dodge a chain sickle. She kicked Roman away from her so he wouldn't be a burden to her fight ahead.

Neo was glaring daggers against her three opponents. If looks could kill, Neo would have killed them already a thousand times. Still, the fact they managed to corner her and Roman like this easily really grinded her gears. All she wants to do is rip their throats apart and feed them to the Grimm. But she knew she would have some difficulties in doing so, considering she is outnumbered, not to mention that Roman is out of commission. The only two choices she has is to flee or stand her ground and fight.

She could actually flee easily enough on her own, but she couldn't just abandon Roman like that. After all, he is the only person in her life that gave her meaning in this world, the same person that took care of her when she was at her lowest, he was there for her when she was blinded by the darkness of the world and he shone a light upon that darkness. He was her anchor in her life and she could never live without him around so she will do whatever she can to win, even if it means she might die.

"Now now, there's no need to continue if you don't want to. After all, we knew the outcome of this little spar of ours. You might as well surrender yourselves to me and all will be well."

That Cinder bitch was really getting on her nerves, the same bitch that drove Roman into a corner and nearly dying because of it. Granted he still has a ton of aura left, but the fact that they could drain it very quickly is very alarming. If he didn't make that escape plan, surely he would have been overwhelmed and everything would have been over for him in a matter of minutes.

"Actually, I have a better proposition for you. Why not join us? Your skills will be far more useful to us than just stealing and looting with a low-class thief like Roman. Join us and together, we can bring ruin to all the kingdoms!"

The one thing that she shouldn't have done is insulted Roman at all. But now that this… Bitch did, she will make her pay very slowly. She gives the trio of villains a very cold smile before seemingly teleporting out of nowhere. Mercury and Cinder were surprised but Emerald wasn't, seeing she had seen this trick already.

"Cinder, watch out! She is going to-"

Her lines were cut off as she stared back at Cinder with widened eyes as she spotted Neo, jabbing her elbow that is coated in light pink aura, into Cinder's abdomen. She could still see the cold smile on her face before she backed up and did a roundhouse kick, sending Cinder into Mercury, knocking them both down at the same time. Emerald got furious instantly and threw her chain sickles at the young girl. But Neo managed to avoid one of the sickles and grabbed the other one, pulling it towards her, dragging Emerald along with it and punching her face with her pink coated fist and sending her flying a few feet away from her. Neo smirked at her accomplishment before having to dodge a blade coming from her back. She looked at Cinder, who was glaring back with much hatred as she could muster. Good, she should know the pain of insulting the one Neo cares about. No one insults Roman but her.

"You're gonna pay for that brat!" Cinder yells as she continues her assault. Neo dodges the attacks with as much grace as she could show. She did this to irritate Cinder even more, which seems to work very perfectly as her assaults became more ferocious and berserk-like. Neo manages to get more jabs at her, whittling her aura slowly but surely. But then Mercury joined the battle, adding in his own powered kicks to the mix. And while she still does continue to dodge very well, she can no longer attack, having to focus purely on the defensive now thanks to the extra hand's Cinder has.

The struggle lasted for a few moments longer before an opening was spotted and Mercury landed a kick onto Neo's side, which shattered in glass. He predicted this however and used his powered gun in his boots to propel himself towards Cinder and kicked above her head, which resulted in hitting Neo's shoulder, who was in the process of landing on Cinder to stab her with Hush. Her pink aura flared to life before being sent flying to where Roman was.

Neo tried to get up, but couldn't as the pain flared up from her shoulder that was brutally hit. While aura can protect the worst of attacks, the fact is that heavy hits can still take a toll on someone, especially when it wasn't coated in aura, not to mention that since it was also powered by his gun boots, that made it even more painful for the girl.

She tried to get up again before a hand clasped in her other shoulder. She looks over to Roman, his expression that of someone who was about to do something really stupid and reckless. He pushes her aside as he walks toward the trio, who were still recovering from Neo's assault until he was a few feet apart from them. She wasn't sure what he was thinking at the moment, but hopefully, It's something good.

"Your right Cinder, there is no need to continue this little game of ours, after all, we know the victor of this match before it even started. But you know, I only wanted to test to see if you can handle our pros on how we do business here." Roman brushes off the dust from his white coat, irritated at the fact that he needs to get it dry cleaned again.

"Oh, I think we're past negotiations already. After all, I would only give you one chance to cooperate with me, but now you leave me no choice but to kill you now." Cinder smiled evilly at that as she strode slowly towards Roman. He responded by walking away from her.

"Well that's a shame. You would have been a great business partner. But I guess we can't always have everything we want. Then again having too much of something is always bad for you, so I'll pass on the world domination thing and just go back to stealing things yeah?" Roman smirked at her before hearing the whistling sound of four rockets coming straight at their location. Cinder heard it as well and tried to back away before Roman threw another earth dust which landed behind Mercury and Emerald's back, summoning an earth wall, preventing them from escaping. He pushes Cinder together with them and leaves quickly. "THEN AGAIN, WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT?! GOODBYE!"

"YOU LITTLE SH-" Cinder couldn't finish her sentence as the rockets impacted where the trio was standing, resulting in a huge explosion that pushed Roman quite violently, rewarding him with a face plant to the ground. Neo, despite being in terrible condition herself, manages to assist Roman as he slowly gets up, smirking at his successful plan. He honestly was surprised that it worked as well as it did.

It was simple really he managed to get quickly in contact with some of Junior's men he borrowed for the day, telling them to get ready to blow shit up while he set up a trap for them, which somehow they fell for. Maybe it's because of his good-looking charm or by sheer dumb luck that somehow he managed to get them to do things right. Since he too wasn't clear on his instructions before distracting her, he might have thought that they would mess up in the most inconvenient of times. Just his luck, they didn't and managed to set up the kill box perfectly.

"Well boys and girls, we did it." He addressed Neo and some of the men who came there to assist with red swords in their hands just in case. "Now who wants some Valean wine tonight? My treat-"

Several arrows flew out from the dust cloud as four of those arrows landed on the poor bastards who shot out the rocket. The arrows landed on their chest, briefly lighting their chest up before their bodies cracked in a golden light, disappearing into ashes moments later.

The rest of the arrows landed near Roman, Neo, and the surrounding men. Roman knew what these arrows would do to them, but he couldn't get out of its range due to his exhausted state. Neo was just about to grab Roman and teleport when they suddenly exploded without warning. While the explosion was weaker than normal, it did prevent Neo from teleporting out with Roman.

The goons of Junior scrambled around, trying to gain their bearings before one of them was stabbed in the chest by a sword behind their back. The rest of the men jumped into action to avenge their fallen comrade. Sadly for them, they got wiped out pretty easily without much resistance at all. Limbs flying out, heads being decapitated, screams of terror and pain could be heard out pretty clearly.

Roman and Neo looked at smoke before it suddenly got dispersed by a hand. It revealed Cinder, albeit with her state being much worse than before. Her dress has some tears into it, showing her assets a bit more than usual (which Roman enjoyed), her hair burnt and disheveled in a pretty bad way. Her amber eyes burning with newfound hatred and rage as she briskly walks to the criminal duo. Neo walked right to her challenge, teleporting before appearing behind her to stab her. Sadly it was easily blocked as she swatted Neo like a fly, her strength increased a lot more than before.

Cinder got a sudden idea which made her grin darkly. She immediately rushed Neo who was still trying to get back up. She caught Neo's throat in her grasp, pouring her aura into her arm to prevent her from breathing and squirming about. She lifted her up like a corpse, ready to take her life any second now. But that's not what she is going to do. She carries Neo over to Roman, who looked over in fear and desperation. Fear due to how powerful this woman is and desperation to try and get Neo out of that mess no matter what.

"You know, just be grateful I'm still giving you a chance, despite having every right to murder your little girlfriend here." She glanced at Neo who gave her the finger before turning back to Roman. "So what is your final decision. Do you still want to resist? Or join me and I will spare this girl of yours." To emphasize her point, she chokes the girl even harder, the said girl struggles even further to get out of her vice grip. Roman panicked at the sight of Neo and just told her to drop her and he will help her. Cinder smirked before dropping Neo to the ground, hacking and coughing away as she tried to get more oxygen before being kicked by Cinder over to Roman's side.

Roman quickly rushes to her side as he puts her head to his lap to relive some of the pain from her as he glared back at Cinder with hatred and disgust while she stares back at him with contempt and a bit of amusement.

"We're gonna have so much fun together Roman!"

* * *

**Date: June 22, 2020**

**A/N: oh shit! Almost 2 months have passed since i last updated this story!? Fuck, i really have lost my touch. Sorry guys, i had a rough time picturing the fight between Roman and Neo vs Cinder and her gang. I hope i did well. Please leave a review about it. Tell me what i should improve on the fight scene. And leave a follow and favorite as well.**

**Anyway cya guys later Chow!**


End file.
